


Friends or Something Else

by XianKar



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Humor, Hunter x Hunter - Freeform, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Love/Hate, M/M, Mild Smut, Romance, hxh - Freeform, leopika - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 09:18:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17701616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XianKar/pseuds/XianKar
Summary: Leorio is always helping everyone, but... what happens when a doctor gets sick? Kurapika ended up living with Leorio, and through these chapters, friendship starts to confuse with love. No one accepts their feelings for each other. Will they confess their love, or will they remain friends? Prepare for romance, humor, and more romance.





	1. Friends

That morning Kurapika went out early for a walk around York Shin city. He didn't want to draw too much attention, so he decided not to wear the traditional kuruta clan costume. Even so, a couple of girls stared at him as he passed by, not that he noticed. He continued his way to nowhere in particular, looking for something to keep his mind busy. First, he went to a library to kill some time browsing some books. Nothing seemed particularly interesting. He brought with him a book into a cafe, sat outside. His book remained opened on the same page for several minutes, while he stared at the sun rising behind some black clouds. His mind was slowly filled with thoughts about the hunter's exam, as if it was something that had happened far away in the past. All the events involving the Phantom Troupe came across his memories. Like strange pictures, as if they were taken from a movie. The fact of killing someone seemed so unfamiliar to him. His thoughts where suddenly interrupted by the sound of his chains shaking impatiently as his anxiety grew stronger. He took a deep breath, and the chains on his hands faded.

As far as it seemed in time, just a few weeks had passed since those events took place. This was the first day he came out after recovering from his wounds. Leorio had just left a couple of days ago to continue with his studies. Gon and Killua already had started the quest for Ging's whereabouts.

Kurapika took a moment to think about how much his friends gave up to for him, and a strange feeling took over him, something between guilt and gratitude.

That's how he decided to pay Leorio a visit to thank him.

With his hunter's license and his research skills, he could easily find Leorio's location.

"You really aren't very careful," he thought out loud, disappointed yet happy to find him right away. He expected to see him in his home town, but surprisingly, he appeared to be renting a small apartment in the outsides of the city. Kurapika headed to the address he had found. It was a tall, old building, which looked somehow lonely. When he entered the building, Kurapika realized that there wasn't much people living there, and most of them were elders. "right, it sure is a quiet place to study", he thought as he entered the elevator.

He looked for the correct door number, and hesitated for a few seconds before knocking. He finally knocked, twice, but no one answered. He knocked once more, this time harder, and a voice came from inside the apartment, which sounded nothing like Leorio.

"I'm busy! Go bother someone else!"

"Leorio? It's me. Kurapika," he raised his voice so that his friend could hear him.

After a moment of silence the door opened just a few inches. He could barely see Leorio's face. But he could tell it was a tired, yet surprised face.

"Kurapika, what are you doing here? You should be resting. Look, I'm sorry, I'm a bit busy right now, but you should stop by some other time"

"Is that how you greet a friend?", he said, firmly, and then pushed the door. "Step aside, I'm coming in."

"Hey, wait a minute, I said…"

Suddenly the strength holding the door was gone in a second, and it opened wide. Kurapika could now see his friend's face. He was in pain and exhausted, barely able to stand. A second later, Leorio collapsed into Kurapika's arms, who reacted just before both ended up on the floor.

"Leorio! What's wrong? Leorio! Answer me!"

But he was already lying unconscious in his arms, breathing heavily, his naked torso all soaked in sweat. Kurapika felt the extremely high temperature of his body. He managed to drag him to the couch in the living room, and quickly took out his phone to call an ambulance. But just second before dialing he hesitated.

"We have made many enemies…If I call now we could be tracked and our location would be exposed. This is more dangerous than anything. I must figure out how to help him by myself". He put his phone away and began to look for a first aid kit, but the place was a mess.

"Come on Leorio, you are doctor, you must have medication somewhere in here…What would I do if I were you?" He searched between tons of papers and books spread on the floor.

  
"Ok, first, water. And try to lower the temperature. Then, some painkillers" He told himself.

He brought from the kitchen a bowl with cold water and a towel, and gently placed the wet towel on his forehead. "It's not enough."

He kept looking into the mess, and found Leorio's suitcase.

He found a lot of flasks with labels on them, which he couldn't recognize, and read them all until one sounded familiar.

  
"I remember I read somewhere that this was used in case of fever".

He took a pill and dissolved it in a spoon with water, helping his friend to swallow it. He wasn't sure how long it would take to be effective, or if it was going to be effective at all. Meanwhile, he could only wait and refresh Leorio's face and neck with the wet towel. He was beginning to feel tired, so he sat on the floor, resting his back against the couch. That way he could feel Leorio when he woke up.

A few hours later Leorio opened his eyes, still dizzy because of the high temperature and the headache. He couldn't see clearly. He just saw a delicate, blonde figure sitting next to him. And in his feverish hallucination, he pictured himself in the hospital with a sexy blond nurse. Even sick, he had the strength to stretch his arm and touch his butt.

"Ah!" Kurapika woke up instantly. "What the hell do you think you are doing, you pervert old..."

He turned to him with the intention of punching his face, but he regretted it the second he saw his friend sleeping peacefully, all sings of the pain gone. Kurapika sighed and stared at him. "I'm glad you are ok now, idiot". And then he went back to his position, closing his eyes with relief.

* * *

 

 

The next morning Kurapika opened his eyes and saw a roof that he didn't recognize. A scent of coffee and toasts woke him up. He suddenly realized he was lying on the couch, and that the nice smell came from the kitchen. He got up, and saw Leorio wearing an apron, making breakfast.

"Oh, you are up already! Good morning"

"Good… morning" Kurapika was still sleepy, rubbing his eyes. He stared carefully at him cooking. He didn't know his friend was such a skillful cook. But then…

"Wait a minute"...he pointed at Leorio.

"Hey! what are YOU doing out of bed?"

"Uhh… breakfast? Isn't it obvious?" Leorio looked at him, puzzled

Kurapika slowly walked towards him, with a threatening aura. His face showed anger.

"Wow, take it easy, I'm OK now. Really, I'm a doctor. I don't need anyone to take care…"

Kurapika interrupted him, placing his hand violently on his friend's forehead, almost burning himself by the heat.

"GO TO BED",

With a kick he sent him flying away to the bedroom.

"I feel worse than ever", said Leorio from the bedroom, but obeying his friend.

Kurapika put the breakfast that Leorio had made in a tray, and brought it to the bedroom.

"You are unbelievable", he stood by his side next to the bed, "being a doctor and not knowing how to take care of yourself."

"And you are annoying as ever," Leorio said as he took a bite from his toast and his scrambled eggs, "but at least it seems you're back to normal now."

There was a moment of silence. Kurapika was not entirely sure what he meant by that.

"Leorio... you, Gon and Killua have helped me a lot. I know some of your plans were delayed because of me… all this mess, and the lack of time for studying. It's my fault. I'm sorry. And… thank you."

"Don't be ridiculous, you don't need thank me. Otherwise, what are friends for?" He said, slightly embarrassed. "By the way, don't you have business to attend with the Spiders?…"

"I...uhh...I'm going to stay here for a while."

"What? No…no way"

"Why not?"

"Because..."

"Because what?... that's a stupid answer"

"Well, that is a stupid question..."

"I wasn't asking..."

"This is my place, and I say no"

"This is your place, alright… but this can't be anybody's place! It's a complete mess, no one can live here. You don't even know how to take care of yourself"

"Oh yeah, and you do? Tell me more about how you didn't risk your life going after the Phantom Troupe. That went well…", he said with sarcasm.

"What does that have to do with any of this? I don't care, I said I'm staying here."

Kurapika looked at him with determination, his arms crossed against his chest. Leorio stared at him for a moment, and then sighed, defeated. Experience had taught him that arguing with that boy lead to nowhere. He was just too stubborn.

"Oh, what the hell…do whatever you want," he said, looking away while Kurapika smiled triumphant.

  
Then Leorio turned to him with a serious expression.

  
"But seriously, what are you going to do about the Phantom Troupe?"

"Hate and revenge have not yet abandoned me… but this time I want to make things right, think calmly, and plan properly. There are other important things left to do…" as he spoke, the chains in his hand were shacked. Then he closed his eyes and the chains where gone.

Leorio looked at him, relieved. He thought it was better to change the subject.

"Actually, I'm studying to apply for a scholarship in a foreign country, to continue my medical studies. Admission test takes place in one month, so I've been studying like crazy. Sometimes I spent all night reading, and with the low temperatures we've been having, my body's defenses have fell. In fact, I think I caught some virus or something the other day. That's why I didn't want you to come in. But I've already taken antibiotics, so there is nothing to worry about."

"Well then, it's settled. I'll help you during these days so you can study. But first, you need to rest for a couple of days, and don't argue about it."

"Yes, yes..." He said, waving his hands carelessly "Look who is talking" he whispered to himself.

* * *

 

 

The next three days seemed to pass fast, and Leorio obeyed Kurapika, staying in bed. He spent the rest of the week in his desk reading and writing, while Kurapika took care of all the cleaning and tiding. He went out only to get supplies. Kurapika was in charge of the kitchen, but his efforts always ended up in a mess. He simply didn't have his friend's cooking ability. Even so, Leorio ate gratefully every dish he cooked for him.

Leorio stopped for nothing more than eating and going to the bathroom. And when Kurapika forced him to go to sleep.

"It's enough for today Leorio."

"But I'm not finished with this unit yet! Just a few more hours…"

  
"It's three in the morning already! Go to sleep, or do you want to catch a cold again?"

"OK, fine. I'll go to bed. But with one condition. You sleep in my bed today and I sleep in the couch"

"That condition is not acceptable"

"Why not?"

"Because I know you, and you are going to get up and study as soon as I fall asleep!"

  
"uh, no… I wasn't planning on that…".He lied.

"Besides, this is your place, and your bed. And you need much more energy than me to study. It's logical that you need to rest in the most optimal conditions."

"But I still can't let you sleep on the couch everyday."

"And why is that? I don't get it, what's wrong with it?"

Leorio looked at him, and he did not have an answer. As much as his friend looked like a woman -and sometimes acted like one-, he was still a man. Leorio couldn't understand his own way of thinking and his sudden "chivalry" thoughts towards his best friend. He could not tell him that it would be rude to let him sleep there. Not without getting beaten by Kurapika, for considering him as a delicate girl.

"Answer me… or are you imagining weird things already?"

"Forget it, I'm going to bed", he said as he left the room.

 _Damn it, he acts like my mom, or like a hysteric wife,_  he thought on his way to the bathroom. He felt awkward about that thought.

 _God... I need to stop referring to him as a woman. After all, he is a man just like me. But… now that I think about it… I've never seen him getting undressed. That's weird, there's no need for being shy between men. I wonder if…_ "

When he came out of the bathroom he saw Kurapika sleeping peacefully on the couch, wearing just a thin white t-shirt. Curiosity took over him.

_What am I thinking?_

He shook his head side to side, like that helped to vanish his thoughts…

_But… just this one time..._

He silently approached the couch, and once he was close enough to touch him, he hesitated for a few seconds to stare at him.

 _I never noticed how cute he is.._. He blushed a little, and remained there watching him in silence for a few long seconds, processing that thought.

 

_WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING!?_

He held his head between his hands, surprised by his own thoughts.

_But I need to make sure…_

He hesitated one last moment, and then slowly began to pull up his friend's T-shirt, until his trunk was completely exposed. He sighed when he found a firm, hard man's chest, a little disappointed in a certain way. But also somehow relieved, since he could now stop having strange thoughts about his best friend.

Even so, something prevented him from moving. He remained there, frozen. He knew he was a boy, but still he couldn't help wanting to feel his skin. It looked so smooth, that he felt he had to touch him. He gently rested his hand on his friend's chest, making circles. The warmth coming from that boy's body made him feel so good. He wondered how the rest of his body would feel like, wishing he wouldn't' wake up. He slowly drew a line with his fingers down to his stomach, and enjoyed watching his friend's facial expressions, still asleep.

 _This is wrong in so many ways_... He thought, but we couldn't stop. He caressed his abs, making Kurapika let out a subtle moan. Leorio was awkwardly turned on.

Sudddenly, Kurapika stretched, making a noise, and Leorio quickly took some distance.

"Leorio?" He rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, uhh… I…I just came for a glass of water. So, Bye." He rushed to bed.

"Hmm... I was having a strange dream, very strange indeed. It was Leorio, but he was… nah, It can't be." He told himself, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that's why dreams are dreams."


	2. Still just friends?

Days passed quietly. There were two weeks left for Leorio's exam. He had fully recovered and studied more enthusiastically than ever, while Kurapika slightly improved his cooking skills. One Saturday evening, he decided to impress his friend with a sophisticated Asian dish. He had read the recipe in a magazine, and thought it would be nice to praise Leorio for his hard work with a surprise like that. He started working at it as soon as Leorio went to the library to get some books, so that when he came home it would be ready. But it didn't go as he expected…

"What is this?!" he looked at what he had created inside that pot. "I could swear it's alive" he thought. Then he read the recipe again, looking desperately for any mistake he could have done. He read the directions at loud: -"FRY rice noodles"- and looked again at the white dough that was floating in some milky water.

"I give up" He quickly removed all traces of his failure, and headed to the Chinese restaurant around the corner. When he was going out, Leorio was just coming back. He didn't even stop to say hi, but just waved at him

"where are you going Kurapika?" he had to yell a little so that his friend could hear him

"I need to buy some stuff, see you later!" he answered, rushing to the elevator

Before he went to get the food, he thought it would be best if he gave Leorio some time alone to study. After all, he ended up coming home earlier, so he walked around the city for a bit. When he believed it was enough time, he went back to the apartment with the Chinese food, thinking of how much his friend liked it.

"guess what I brought home!" he said enthusiastically, but there was no answer

He was surprised to see Leorio lying still on the floor beside a ladder. He was so astonished, that he forgot he had food on his hands, and let it slip when he ran to him

"Leorio!" he looked at his friend's painful expression with concern. He was just recovering consciousness

"I'm sorry. Listen before you get mad at me. I was trying to change a burnt light bulb from the lamp to have better light for studying at night. But I was so busy today, that I think I forgot to eat something. So when I climbed the stairs everything turned black, and I woke up in the floor"

Kurapika stared at him for an instant, trying to hold in his desire to scold him. He calmed down when he saw nothing serious happened to him, and just said:

"I really can't leave alone for a second, you irresponsible doctor" and then held his hand to help him up. But when he pulled his arm a little, Leorio screamed in pain and fell again, pressing hard against his right arm.

"What's wrong?"

"it seems I won't be able to move my arm for a while" he forced a smile. After all, as a doctor he could tell when pain came from a fracture.

Kurapika didn't know what to say. He just helped him get up carefully, and carried him on his back to take him to his bed. He went for the first aid kit and some bandages, and when he came back he saw Leorio's dark face. He knew that frustration was not because of the pain. Kurapika sigh, and tried to cheer he atmosphere.

"well, there's nothing that can't be solved. I guess you can't take off your shirt like that. Come, I'll help you"

He sat next to him in the bed, Leorio still in silence. Kurapika started to undo his friend's shirt, careful not to touch his wounded arm. When he was half way with the buttons, he looked up, and faced directly to Leorio's face. He instantly looked down again, and stopped for a brief moment. He suddenly thought the situation was a bit awkward. They were alone in the room, in the bed, and he was getting him undressed…so he couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Calm down" he told himself. "Why should I get nervous with something like this? It's just Leorio, my best friend, and we are both males. I shouldn't be embarrassed". When he finished with all the buttons, he stared at Leorio's naked torso. "was he always that fit?" he thought as he blushed. Then he closed his eyes hard enough to keep those thoughts away from his head. He discreetly raised his face again, and his eyes meet with Leorio's deep brown eyes, gazing at him with a serious expresion

"w…what are you looking at?! You are making me feel awkward with that serious expression of yours. Can't you just act normally when I'm helping you get changed?"

He nodded and looked away, his cheeks turning slightly red

Kurapika finished taking his shirt off, taking special care with his damaged shoulder, and trying not to stare for too long at his friends fit body. He rubbed some lotion into his arm to make it numb and reduce the pain, and then put bandages from the shoulder to the wrist.

"you really can't be left alone. I was right, you can't take care of yourself, see?"

"Kurapika" he said in a deep voice "I guess I won't be able to apply for the scholarship after all. My arm will be useless for at least a month or so" his lips formed a smile, but his eyes were showed sadness

"but… you can't just give up…" he tried to cheer him

"it's over, don't you get it?" his voice began to raise, by getting upset with himself  
"it's how it is, I just can't…"  
when he turned to his friend, he felt a punch on his cheek

"cut the bullshit" Kurapika was frowning at him  
"remember that you are not only a doctor, but also a hunter, and a good one. This is nothing compared to what you've faced in the past. So stop complaining and get up! And if it's necessary, I'll write the damn exam for you! You will do whatever it takes to pass it, even if you have to do it with you left hand!"

Leorio was listening in silence, his eyes opened wide. They stayed still for a moment, and then he hugged Kurapika by the waist with his only good arm, holding him tightly against him.

"Leorio, what are you…" he tried to get away, but then his body gave in, letting his hands and forehead rest on his friend's chest, and hiding his face into it.

"Thank you, Kurapika" Leorio patted his head gently.

"...what are you talking about? its nothing...That's what friends are for!" he replied, his red face still hidden

They remained like that for a minute. Leorio closed his eyes, feeling relieved, while Kurapika felt like his heart would come out of his mouth at any moment. Even though his heart was beating fast, he felt somehow at ease in that position. After another minute, Kurapika suddenly moved away.

"ahem... well, I'm… going to the bathroom. Call me if you need anything. And try not to break something else. including any body parts" he tried to sound as indifferent as possible

"yes, yes" he replied in a mocking tone, turning his back to him, unable to hide a smile


	3. Must be the hormones

Two days before the exam, Leorio decided he would stop studying to get some rest and relax for the big day. Every night before that he had been up late reading, Kurapika never left his side. Five days after his accident Leorio could start moving his arm again, but he followed his friend's advice not to use it for a while, so his recovery would be faster. To do so, Kurapika helped him study by writing summaries of all the contents as he read at loud, a side of all the cleaning and tidying he had to do. Finally the last night of studying came, and around 12 pm Kurapika begun to snooze on the chair.

"you can go to sleep now, it's ok, you have helped me enough already" Leorio gently rested his hand on his shoulder, waking him up

"I'm not sleepy" he yawned, hardly keeping his eyes opened. He knew he didn't sound very convincing "I will go make some coffee. For you… and maybe for me too"

"you don't need to push yourself so much, you know? I'm the one taking the exam" he looked down

"don't think this has been a burden to me. I'm not doing this just for you. You know I love to learn new things, and actually this was almost fun. I learnt a lot about medicine and it can be very useful for some situations"   
This was not completely a lie, but he knew his friend so much that he couldn't let him think he was a burden or he wouldn't give himself any credit  
"Anyway, I better make tea instead of coffee, otherwise we'will stay awake all night again" he smiled and went to the kitchen.

He came back with two cups of black tea. A few minutes after finishing his tea, Kurapika fell asleep on the desk and Leorio fought to keep his eyes open, until he too fell asleep, resting his head on one of his books. After a while the arm he was leaning on went numb, the cramp woke him up. He stared at Kurapika who slept deeply, and thought "no matter what he says, I've been relying on him too much all this time…I'm going to become a useless person if he keeps spoiling me like this", he smiled sweetly. Then he stood up and gently took his friend in his arms, without waking him up, and took him carefully into the bedroom. He slowly tucked him in bed.  
"I'm sorry, but you won't be able to argue with me now. You deserve to sleep well tonight, so I will sleep on the couch". Without thinking, he got close to him and kissed him softly on the forehead, barely touching his blonde hair with his lips, closing his eyes. Suddenly he felt like someone pulled his sleeves. Surprised, he jumped a little, afraid of looking at Kurapika's mad face. He imagined what his friend would say about that: "what the hell do you think you are doing? You damn pervert".   
He was thinking about what excuse he would give, and preparing to be beaten, when he turned to him

"Kurapika, you see, I was just… you... you had a spider. So don't get the wrong idea…"

But he saw his friend still asleep, an innocent expression on his face

"don't go..." he whispered, half asleep, his eyes closed and holding on to his arm.

Leorio blushed, not knowing what to do, or what that meant. But he noticed a certain sadness in those words and in his face, which made him stay right where he was. "He is probably dreaming. Maybe some nightmare" he thought, and lied next to him trying not to touch him. Kurapika fell asleep again, still grabbing his arm. Leorio was having trouble sleeping, since the bed was a little small for two. As much as he didn't want to admit it, for some reason he felt a bit awkward being so close to Kurapika. He closed his eyes either way, and when he finally was beginning to fall asleep, he woke up with a sudden scream of Kurapika, who was writhing in pain, holding his head with his hands.

"Kurapika what happened, are you ok?"

But there was no answer answer. He was shaking his head side to side with his eyes closed, mumbling words in a language Leorio could not recognize.

"no… don't… take them, stop…" suddenly Kurapika sat on the bed, with his eyes wide opened, turning bright red. His voice sounded now clear but terrified

"why is everything in flames? Why can't I see anything, just...blood, all in red… where is everyone?" he called crying for help, screaming desperately.

"Kurapika! Wake up, it's just a dream! A dream!" Leorio shook him, grabbing his shoulders to wake him up, but it didn't work. He was moving from one side to the other, trying to run away, Leorio had to hold him tightly against him and try to calm him down, as Kurapika forced to escape. Even when he got hit a few times, he didn't let go until Kurapika calmed down. When he stopped he fainted on the bed. Leorio sighted, sad but relieved. He thought about how hard it would have been for his friend.   
"I wish I could at least help you with this… you don't even talk about it". He went to the bathroom to refresh a little, all that episode had made him sweat. He even forgot that he had gone to bed with his clothes on, so after he felt relaxed and sleepy enough, he lied under the sheets in his underwear.

 

The next day was one day before the exam, so Leorio didn't set the alarm. He wanted to sleep until late, because he had not been sleeping well or a lot lately, especially last night. On the other side, Kurapika rested more than ever, and woke up first. A little disoriented, he looked around, not knowing why he was in the bed. It was hard to focus his eyes, his head and back ached badly. He turned to the other side of the bed rubbing his eyes and yawning. When he opened his eyes again, he faced directly with Leorio's sleepy face, and took a few seconds until he realized the image before his eyes.

"huh?" he tried not to yell as he wrapped himself back in the sheets, staying in a corner of the bed. "wh-what am I doing here?" he thought, looking at Leorio's half naked body "and what the hell is he doing here in his underwear?!". Scared enough not to look away from his friend, he looked for a clock in the night table with his hand, but all he could find was a plastic envelope. He threw it away and his face lost all color when he noticed it was a condom… "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED LAST NIGHT AND WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER ANYTHING!?". He did not dare to move, but it seemed like Leorio was beginning to wake up. He got up quickly and ran to the bathroom where he locked himself. He looked at his terrified face in the mirror trying to relax, repeating to himself over and over: "It's just me, nothing happened, nothing happened…"

When Leorio got up Kurapika was already in the kitchen making breakfast

"good morning!" said Leorio cheerfully after he yawned "that was the best night I've had in years, I missed sleeping late so much"

"oh, hi!" he replied short and quick. He became clumsy and he let one of the pancakes slip on the floor "breakfast is ready"

"mmm, smells good" Leorio stood close behind him, bending a little to watch what his friend was making

"do you want coffee?" he asked, unusually loud, rushing to the table

"um, ok…I guess. I mean, If you already served it…" Leorio raised an eyebrow, wondering what was wrong with him

"oh ho ho ho" Kurapika faked a laugh with a weird smile on his face, and was pouring coffee until the cup flooded "oh sorry, I'm going to get something to clean up"

On his way to the kitchen Leorio could hear something broke on the floor. He was starting to get pissed off.

"hey, what's wrong with you? You have been acting really strange. Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"last...last night? why? No, I… I slept wonderfully. Why are you asking? Did you… see something?

"well, you looked really exhausted. I tried to calm you, because you looked like you were in pain, but you just couldn't stop. Until I had to hold you and then… you know, you calmed down, and fell asleep…" Leorio thought it was better not to give him too many details

"WHAT!?" Kurapika could feel his face burning, red as the blood flowing to his head "no, no…that's not true. I… I would remember something like that… It's all your fault! you and your dirty mind" he said, turning his back to him, covering his face with his hands in sorrow and shame. He felt like his soul left his body for an instant

"what the hell are YOU talking about? Are you high or something? Maybe that's why you were having all those hallucinations last night" he paused to eat his pancakes, and then spoke softly" you seemed like you were really suffering… it must have been a terrible nightmare"

"A dream?" Kurapika could feel his soul coming back to his body again

"Ohhh, that dream! Sure, the nightmare…" he coughed "um… yes, I'm not feeling so good. I'm a bit nervous because of that" not even he believed that

"yeah, right… I wonder what were you imagining" Leorio looked at him offended, and then whispered "sure, and I'm the pervert…"

"sorry?" Kurapika acted like he didn't listen

"nothing" he looked away and took his cup to the kitchen

"ok then, let's go for a walk and relax a little!" Kurapika suddenly changed his mood and the subject "and we should also find Gon and Killua"


	4. Reunion

Kurapika waited for Leorio outside the building where he was writing the test. It was cold and the first raindrops started to hit the streets. To kill time he sat in the nearest café to have a hot cocoa, but he didn't want to stay too long away from the building entrance, for Leorio could appear at any moment. As minutes passed he begun to get anxious, maybe even more anxious than Leorio himself. He head back to the entrance. When he was near, Kurapika saw from the distance someone coming out from the building, at a slow pace. The rain fell strongly against the sidewalks, making the scene somehow darker. When he realized it was his friend, he rushed to the entrance, forgetting to open his umbrella. But a few meters before he reached him he slowed down, suddenly wondering what he could say to Leorio if he didn't pass. He never thought about that possibility before. He hesitated for a moment, but then he opened the umbrella and walked towards him, calmly. Leorio stopped in front of him, in silence.

"Leorio..." Kurapika could not hide his worry, he was dying to know. He wondered which would be the best way to ask him. Leorio looked tired and gloomy, and Kurapika noticed he was pressing with his left hand against his right arm, his wrist swollen.  _"oh no, don't tell me he couldn't finish…"_ he thought, alarmed. In that moment, Leorio leaned forward, and rested his chin on his Kurapika's shoulder

"I did it. I passed"

Kurapika looked at him and felt he could cry of happiness for him, but instead he gently patted his head, playing with his hair a little, and talked to him in a sweet voice

"of course you did, you dumb"

They went back to the apartment, and Kurapika helped his friend to bandage his wrist. He was looking forward to call Gon and Killua to tell them the good news, but when he saw Leorio's tired face he thought it would be better to wait until tomorrow. Maybe he could even prepare a surprise…

Next morning Leorio tried to call Gon and Killua, but no one answered.

"what's wrong with Gon? He is not answering any of my calls. Kurapika, have you been able to communicate with Killua?"

Kurapika dialed the number and put on the speaker, so that Leorio could listen to the phone ringing and ringing "he's not answering either. I think it's easier to find them from a public computer on the hunter's web site, as I did with you…" he continued in a lower voice "although I'm sure this time will be a little more difficult"

Leorio felt like that comment should have offended him, but he preferred to ignore it "anyway, let's just go to the fair, before it's too late and I start regretting it"

"what fair?..."

 

The folklore fair took place once in a year in the biggest park of the city, full of food, clothes, dances and handcrafts from different countries and cultures. Kurapika had invited Leorio, but he only knew that they were going to some fair to get groceries, and couldn't possibly imagine such a great show.

"Amazing! Kurapika, why didn't you tell me that this kind of fairs were so cool" he asked with his eyes stuck in the low-cut dress of one of the dancers hanging from multiple colored cloths. Kurapika just sighted and then looked around, until something from a handcraft shop got his attention. He asked for a very particular object that looked somehow familiar to the kuruta clan, and began to chat cheerfully with the owner of the shop. Meanwhile, two girls wearing particularly unusual clothes came near them, holding a tray with a few shot glasses filled with some strange liquor.

"help yourselves, it's a sample from our local liquor. If you like the taste, our store is just over there" said the one who looked younger, with a charming smile. Leorio did as she said, while Kurapika kept talking to the man in the shop about the handcrafts and its history.

"this is the best I've tried! Almost as good as you are. Tell me, honey, what's your name?" Leorio wrapped the other girl with his arm, the one who looked more mature and voluptuous, and adopted a seductive pose.

From the girls red lips came out an unexpected, deep male's voice "Victor, but my friends call me Vicky" he winked and blew a kiss to Leorio. He got shivers down his spine, and felt a desperate need to run.

"Pfffftt! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Kurapika almost choked on his own laughter, trying to contain it. But that laughter didn't last much. The other girl came to him grabbing his arm, and offered him a shot

"oh, I don't drink, but thank you, you're very kind" he rejected, politely

"come on honey, don't be shy" as she spoke she came closer and closer to him, "has anyone told you before how handsome you are? Would you like to go somewhere else to talk?"

"huh? …what's wrong with this place? We can talk here, where there is a lot of people" he answered, feeling awkward. He was really bad at dealing with women, and didn't know how to reject someone without being rude. Leorio looked at him and couldn't help getting a bit mad, maybe even a little jealous, although he wouldn't admit it to himself,  _"what? Why does he always have to take the good part? It's not fair, I won't let that happen"_ he thought. The girl was so close to Kurapika that he had no room to move wiithout touching her, afraid that with any movement he could be kissed by her. It was then when Leorio dragged him out of there.

"ok, I think I had enough fun for today, let's just get what we need and go back!" Leorio said still running, Kurapika slowly recovering from the shock.

They made some quick shopping and got back home. When Leorio opened the door everything was so dark he couldn't see anything. He looked for the switch in the wall with his hand, but before he could turn the lights on….

"SURPRISEEEE!"

Suddenly every light turned on, and Leorio could see Gon and Killua jumping to him with balloons and confetti. He stood there for a few seconds before he could process the picture.

"Gon!" he finally shout happily" you damn kids, I totally fell for it" he said as he gave Killua a bump on the head.

"it was his idea to make it a surprise" Killua said pointing Kurapika

" I needed to entertain you with something to gain time for them to arrive" Kurapika answered with an innocent smile. He blushed a little, but only Killua noticed

"welcome home!" Gon came from the kitchen with some plates with different sweets and treats. The four of them sat in the living room, eating, laughing and sharing all their experiences since they last saw each other

Around 3 in the morning Gon and Killua were falling asleep on the couch, tired from all that enthusiastic talking and laughing, and from their long trip to the city. Leorio brought a blanket and cover them with it, trying not to wake them up, while Kurapika took the empty plates and glasses to the kitchen.

"how lucky they are, they just fall asleep anywhere, they don't care about sleeping together on a small couch" said Leorio softly, watching Killua snoring and Gon stretching his leg over his face.

"it's because they are still kids, they don't feel ashamed of uncomfortable together, they're best friends" said Kurapika watching them with a sweet look on his face.

"so…uh, I should go to be" Leorio said as he walked slowly to his room, and then stopped "hey, do you… uh…"

"yes?"

"nothing, forget it" and went to sleep without finishing the sentence.

Kurapika wondered what that was about, but said nothing. Instead, he finished the washing and cleaning, and when he turned the lights out, he could only hear the sound of the three of his friends snoring, deep and pleasantly asleep. Suddenly a thought came to him  _"this brings back many memories. It's just like when we all first met in the hunter exam, and spent all day and night together, the four of us"_  as he thought of that he couldn't hide the smile on his face. Then he noticed something…  _"And where am I going to sleep?"._  After looking around and seeing nowhere he could lie on, he went to the bedroom and lied on the rug next to Leorio's bed. He couldn't find anything to cover himself with, so he was getting cold, and had stood up watching Leorio sleep, not knowing what to do. He stared at Leorio for a moment, confirming he was deep asleep, and without giving it too much thought he got himself under the sheets near him. The bed was cold, and he could feel the warmth coming from Leorio's body. It was no nice that he couldn't resist coming near him, huddling against his back. He was so comfortable that way, warm and sleepy, that as soon as he put his head on the pillow he fell instantly asleep. Leorio, however, had felt how his friend had stick to his back, and tried not to make any movement or noise that could reveal he was awake. Somehow he felt a little nervous, but comfortable enough to fall asleep again.

 

 


	5. Hot springs & something else

“Good morning gentlemen, welcome to Hunter Spa. Please register here and we will take you to your room”. A girl in a pink uniform with the hunter association symbol on her left arm welcomed Gon,Leorio,Kurapika and Killua

“Woaa. I didn't know there was an exclusive resort for hunters. It's huge!” , said Gon, bending his neck back as far as he could to see the dome above them.

“Well, it certainly is bigger than my backyard's hot springs” Killua observed carefully every detail of the building, but wasn’t as easy to impressed like his friend.

“See? I told you it was a good idea to come here to celebrate and have some vacation days...”

Kurapika turned to Leorio, but to his surprise he couldn't see him around. Leorio was a few meters behind, gasping hard and almost crawling his way to the entrance.

“I just…hope that…the journey is worth it…” He panted, pausing everytime to regain his breath

They planned to spend a fee days in an exclusive tourist complex for hunters. The four of them register with their licenses. The hotel had massage services and all kinds of health therapies, oriented for quick recovery of injuries during hunter's jobs. That's why the difficulty of getting there was a high pro hunter level. A long trip on a ship through a storm was the least of all, but Leorio had the bad idea to drink alcohol last night and got sick on their way there.

After leaving their luggage in the room, they all looked around the place. The entire building would have taken the whole day, but even more amazing was the landscape that surrounded it, placed on the top of a mountain between the volcanoes that heated the hot springs.

“Killua look! It's a huge fountain!”

“And with a huge pool!”

Both of them ran to the water while Kurapika and Leorio advised them not to run. Gon slipped, and Killua tripped with him, flying a few meters and falling directly into the pool, splashing everywhere. As soon as he reached ip the surface, he could feel a threatening aura around him, so familiar that he was afraid to turn back and confirm what he expected.

”Bisky!” said Gon, surprised

With her hair soaking, she sent Killua flying away with one single punch.

“That's for ruining my facial mask!”

Leorio and Kurapika looked at each other and shrugged, puzzled. Bisky noticed them

 _"What a handsome couple of young men_ ". She thought as she fixed her hair.

“OH ho ho ho! I'm sorry. I'm Bisky, the young and beautiful teacher of these two boys. They sometimes need a little discipline”. She batted her eylashes at them with an innocent face.

“She totally changed her attitude in an instant”, Leorio whispered to Kurapika

“I know, it's like she turned into someone else”, he whispered back, like she wasn't there listening.

“Bisky, what are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you here!”, asked Gon enthusiastically

“Well you should! This is like my second home of course, I need to keep young and strong and beautiful. The minerals in this water are perfect for the skin, the perfect warmth for muscles and bones, the perfect hands of the massage boys…- her eyes shined as she continued talking to herself

“She's like a female version of Leorio” Killua joined in the conversation with a bruised eye

“Hey, what's that supposed to mean?” Leorio wondered

Bisky gave them a quick tour and took them to the best massages sessions, hot tubs and therapies, while she, Gon and Killua told Kurapika and Leorio all their experiences in Greed Island. When they finished it was already nighttime, and everyone went back to their rooms.

“You should have dinner with us Bisky-san”, Kurapika asked politely, with a warm smile.

“Oh, just call me Bisky, ho ho ho”, she blushed

“Alright then, meet us at the hall in about an hour”, said Leorio, and then they headed to the room.

When they first came into the room in the morning to leave their luggage and rushed to the attractions, they didn't even notice how big and luxurious the room -more like an apartment- was. At the end of the entrance hall there was a living room, with lots of board games, a LED TV and a shelf full of movies, and even a mini bar. Killua immediately ran to the poker table and the cards, checking his founds in his account with his phone, while Gon scold him and forbid him to waste money gambling. Kurapika read carefully the movie titles, looking for something he could know or at least sounded interesting -he was more into books than movies-, until he finally picked one that sounded familiar. But when he took it and looked at the cover, he noticed it was not what he thought it would be, but a movie with adult content. He couldn't help turning a bit red when Leorio asked him: “did you find anything good to watch tonight?”

It made him so nervous that the case slipped from his hands. He tried to hide it and put it back in the shelf before Leorio insisted in finding out what he had there. Then Leorio examined the bar, a little disappointed to find just a bottle of champagne and beer cans. "I guess I'll have to drink whiskey at the restaurant", he thought.

As always, Gon and Killua stopped arguing and after five minutes they were playing around like the best friends they were. They ran to see their room

“Wow! Cool! Gon, look how soft these beds are. Let's jump on them” killua said jumping from one bed to the other, followed by Gon who threw a pillow at his face. Killua, always the most competitive, threw himself on top of him, with all the weight of his body.

“Killuaaaa! Move, you are too heavy! I surrender, I surrender!”

But he only moved when a door got his attention. Curious, he opened the door and saw the bathroom, but not just any bathroom. This one had a big hot tub instead of a shower, and the floor was made of glass, an aquarium underneath their feet could be seen with different shaped and coloured fish

“Kurapika, Leorio! You need to see the bedrooms, they are great!” Gon shouted so they could hear him from the living room. They looked at each other, and then rushed to the other bedroom. When they opened the door, Kurapika was speechless, as surprised as Leorio… but not in a good way.

“What is this? Kurapika, what the hell this you make a reservation for?”

“How would I know!? I just asked for a room for four people! Don't blame me, at least I did something, unlike you. So you could stop complaining...” Kurapika crossed his arms against his chest and looked away, with his pride hurt.

It was a beautiful double room with a Caribbean beach themed decoration, with two palm trees and a hammock hanging from them, a blue sky painted on the roof, and the walls were an aquarium, just like the bathroom's floor. Gon and Killua heard them arguing and went to see what happened.

“Huh?! Yours is even better!” Gon said excited, while Killua -who realized the situation- looked at the sexual toys that were placed on a blanket under the palm trees, slighly blushing.

“Come Gon, this is not appropriate for underaged”

“You are wrong, this was a mistake!” shouted Leorio and Kurapika at the same time, their faces completely red.

“What are you talking about Killua?”, Gon asked, “besides, we are the same age… oh look, here is the bathroom”. They continued talking in the bathroom, which had an even bigger hot tub and a sea bottom decoration.

“Ok, I'm going to talk to the administration to get a new room, as I see that you are not capable of anything else than complaining” Kurapika told Leorio

“No you are not, I'm going too. Otherwise you will get us something weird again”

“huh? Why do you want to change rooms? This one is so cool, why don't you like it? If you want to, we can switch bedrooms, me and Killua could sleep here, right Killua?”, asked Gon innocently

“NO WAY” the other three answered at the same time, blushing

The four of them went down to the reception, but they told them that all othe rooms were already taken, so they couldn’t get another one. Kurapika and Leorio sighed.

“Anyway, we better get something to eat and forget about it” said Kurapika. Leorio nodded, and the four of them went for dinner.

 


	6. Hot Springs and Something Else -Part II-

It was time for dinner. The four friends gathered at the SPA's main restaurant and waited for Bisky. Gon and Killua watched how the dishes came and went from the kitchen to the dining room and wandered around, while Leorio and Kurapika sat at the table. Leorio ordered a whiskey right away, Kurapika talked about the history behind every dish, although his friend wasn’t really paying attention.

Bisky showed up a few minutes later, and Gon raised his hand to call her over.

They served themselves different dishes from the buffet from all over the world. As much as they tried, it was too much to try them all in one night. Then came dessert, and Leorio was already in his second glass of whiskey. The three eldest remained at the table chatting and laughing. Killua had saved as much room as he could for dessert, and went directly to the chocolate fountain. Around the fifth time he went for more, he noticed Gon wasn't at the dessert bar anymore, or at the table. He looked for him around the room and found him sitting at another table with two girls, around 20 years old, and cheerfully talking to them. He watched them for a coupe minutes while he finished one of his chocolate dipped strawberries, and then decided it was safe for Gon to be there, and he went back to the table. A few minutes later, Gon came back holding a coconut filed with a drink, and decorated with colored straws and a paper umbrella.

“What is that, Gon?” Kurapika asked, curious

“I'm not sure, but it is really sweet and relaxing”, said Gon, holding his cheeks between his hands. Leorio asked him if he could try some, and the flavor surprised him so much he nearly spit it out from his mouth

“This has alcohol in it! Gon, where did you get that? God, what's the problem with these guys? Selling alcohol to underage kids…”

“oh! No, don’t worry, those nice girls gave it to me”, he smiled and pointed to the table with the two girls.

“You can't accept something from a stranger just like that”. Kurapika took his cocktail away, and Gon’s eyes became watery.

The young kuruta couldn’t help feeling a little curious and took a sip from it too

“Although I must admit… it really is very sweet and relaxing, I can barely feel the rum in it”. A _nd I am not used to drinking,_  he thought.

“Where did Killua go?” Bisky interrupted.

“Huh? What's _he_ doing there now?” Leorio pointed at Killua, who was now sitting with the two girls at the other table. They could see how he talked to them while they played with his hair and laughed. Leorio stared at him speechless, and then his eyes went from Killua to Gon a couple times, wondering how they where so popular with the girls if they where just kids.

Killua came back with a drink served in a pineapple, decorated with colorful umbrellas and straws.

“This is so good! It has chocolate liquor in it”, he claimed

“Killua! Why do you always want to have all the best? It's not fair! You always want to beat me in everything!”, said Gon, but Killua only mocked him, sticking his tongue out.

“Kurapika say something! It's not fair! Why can _he_ drink? I want mine back, please!”, Gon begged him with a sad face. But Kurapika wasn’t listening. His attention went to the other table where Leorio headed to talk to the girls. _Knowing him, I bet he is going to try something with them and piss them off_ , he thought. Gon took advantage of the situation and took his drink back from Kurapika, without him even noticing. He was too concentrated watching Leorio being slapped on his face, he did not hear anything that happened around him.

“Let me try it”, Killua was trying to take Gon’s drink

“No!” Gon pushed him away with one hand, but he insisted

“Come on, I’ll let you taste mine”, he smirked.

“I don’t want to! Go have your own!”

Bisky sighed as she watched them argue, used to it by now. Then she turned to Kurapika, who was frowning, and she could see his mind was somewhere else. She followed his eyes and saw Leorio’s defeated expression, walking back to the table and rubbing his red, swollen cheek.

Leorio returned in shame at the table, sitting in silence. Kurapika pretended to be looking at the drink menu.

“Damn it…”, Leorio complained as he rubbed his cheek.

“You deserve that for being an idiot”, said Kurapika without looking away from the menu.

“Why do you have to be always so annoying? Now why are _you_ angry about? I’m the one who’s being beaten for no reason…”

Kurapika scoffed and ignored him, reading the menu for the eight time. Everything in it looked the same to him, who had never ordered a drink before. He had only recently turned 18 and there was no time to drink or have fun. At least not until now. He was feeling grumpy, something about Leorio was bothering him but he wasn’t sure exactly what. He hadn’t done anything different than he did before. _Is there something in me that has changed?_ He asked himself. Uncertainty was making him angry. He decided it was a good moment for a drink – he had seen many times in the movies how people forgot about their feelings after a drink or two- But he then realized he had no idea what or how to order without looking stupid.

Bisky, who had great observation skills and could read the situation, jumped in to his rescue and discretely helped him choose. Meanwhile Leorio had ordered his third whiskey and was already drinking.

“I told you mine was better, Gon, but you didn’t listen and now you missed your opportunity to switch.”

“No fair Killua! You always trick me!”

Suddenly everyone just remembered that the two underaged boys where still drinking and arguing over their drinks. But it was too late now that they almost finished them.

The two younger went on arguing for a bit, and the rest ignored them. Kurapika tried a couple of shots of different distilled drinks, and liked not a single one. He felt like his throat was burning, and he nearly spit it out a few times, but he was determined, as he was for everything he did, and finished them. Bisky, still eager to find him something he could like, finally ordered some white wine for herself, and offered Kurapika to try it.

It’s sweet but I can still feel the alcohol in it, although it doesn’t burn that much as the others. He thought as he took a second sip. Then he ordered a glass for himself.

Leorio, Kurapika and Bisky chatted for a bit, Leorio was no longer mad, and Kurapika forgot why he was even upset about. Bisky observed them with amusement as they drank.

Killua, who was bored of teasing Gon already, stared at Bisky’s mischievous expression and figured she was up to something by getting Kurapika drunk, but he could not tell the reason why she was doing it. He observed them drink for a bit while ignoring Gon’s complains, until he begun feeling a bit sleepy.

 _It’s weird,_ he thought, _normally I can go for days without sleep but I can’t seem to keep my eyes opened…and why does Kurapika look kinda blurry?_

He then turned to Gon who was still going off about something Killua was not paying attention to.

“…and by the way, I call first for the shower in the morning, and you can’t say no because the last time…”, Gon continued

“yeah, yeah, whatever you want” Killua interrupted “Sorry Gon, I was being a jerk. Can we go to sleep now? I’m tired.”

Gon paused, and gave him a suspicious look.

“Killua you always do the same thing…you like to piss me off and then you apologize”, he crossed his arms and looked away, “don’t say sorry if you don’t mean it”

Killua shrugged and stuck his tongue out, winking at him. “Teehee, you got me. Sorry for that.”

Gon turned to him and smiled at his friend’s sincere apology. Then they both got up.

“Let’s go to bed.”

“Since the children are going to bed perhaps the grownups will want to continue the conversation in your room, or mine if you wish?”

“That would be wonderful”, said Leorio

“I could have a few more drinks”, said Kurapika

The three of them got up.

As soon as Kurapika was standing he felt suddenly dizzy. His legs were week, and he no longer had control over his body. He lost his balance and had to hold from a chair to stand still.

They all turned to him, slightly worried.

“Are you alright?” Leorio asked, not sure if he should have come closer to help him

“I’m ok…”, Kurapika said, and kept walking, with trouble and slowly, but able to walk.

“I think…maybe we’ll continue the conversation tomorrow. It’s been a long day”, Said Leorio

“I’m… I’m fine…”, argued Kurapika

“Don’t be stubborn…We are all tired, aren’t we?” He looked at Killua and Gon

“No, I’m n…ouch!” Gon was interrupted by Killua stepping on his foot.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, good night”, Killua said

“Good night everyone”, Bisky said and walked to her room with a smile on her face

“Oohhh ho ho ho…”

Killua could hear her laugh from the distance as the four of them walked to their room.

 _What is that old hag planning now?_ He wondered.

Gon was being particularly clumsy that night. He suddenly tripped and fell, and for some reason Killua thought it was hilarious. They both couldn’t stop laughing in the hallway. Kurapika remained quiet, needing to rest his body on the walls from time to time. The way to the elevator seemed to him like eternity, and felt like his body temperature turned higher with every step he took. Leorio noticed he was not doing well.

“Come”, he offered his arm

Kurapika’s pride wanted to say no, but he was in no position to reject help, so he gave in, and the four made it to the room.

Once in the apartment, Gon and Killua still had energy to pay around, laughing and running around. It seemed to Leorio like the alcohol have had some effect on them -not that they drank a lot but they were kids after all-. They played cards on the floor, while Leorio tried hard to drag Kurapika into the room, who had suddenly dropped all his weight on him. It was so unexpected that he ended up on the floor facing down.

“Leave me… just let me die”, Kurapika spoke in a unusually dark and melodramatic tone

“What are you talking about? You are just drunk, don't be ridiculous. No one has died yet from that…“. Leorio fought to help him up, but he was not cooperating at all.

 All of a sudden Kurapika looked up, his blue eyes filled with tears, ready to burst at any time.

“Kurapika?!” Leorio yelled, alarmed “What… what's wrong? Are you ok?” he looked at him, concerned, for he had never seen his friend cry, not even once. He didn't know how to react.

“Leave me alone, I want to die!” he said as he dramatically lied on the floor, resting the back of his hand on his forehead.

Leorio’s jaw dropped.

 _I get it now, he is being a depressive drunk_. He thought

A cracking noise came from the other side where Killua and Gon where. Leorio turned to them. The mini bar door was opened, and a bottle of champagne broken on the floor. Killua and Gon still rolling on the floor laughing.

“Hey, stop messing around!” Leorio tried to scold them but they weren't listening, “Gon, get off the furniture! What's so funny guys? Are you sure it's something you drank and not something you smoked?”

That comment only made Gon laugh harder.

“Killua… what the hell are you doing now?”

“Life is wonderful…” Killua was sitting on the window ledge hugging a plant, his eyes lost, looking into the horizon. He had the cutest and most peaceful expression he had ever shown.

“What the…”

“Think about it, about how beautiful is to be alive…” Killua smiled

Leorio looked at him, and then sighed.

_The existentialist drunk…we are screwed…_

Kurapika suddenly had recovered his strength. He got on his feet, his face nothing like the pitiful one he had before, but an aggressive one. He scanned the room for an opponent to satisfy his need to fight.

Leorio was trying to get Killua down from the window before he could get hurt.

“Get down right now!”, Leorio tried to pull him

“Leorio, I understand your anger, I really do” Killua spoke still looking at the horizon, and wrapping his arm around Leorio’s neck. “But you need to let go. You need to give in to your feelings and once you do, you’ll learn that life is beautiful. Almost as beautiful as my feelings for…”

“GOOON!”

Kurapika yelled from across the room

“I challenge you!”, he said as he took out his daggers and pointed at him.

Gon stared at him, puzzled.

“huh?”

“In the name of the Kuruta tribe, for my pride as a warrior I challenge…”

Gon snorted, making him pause.

“Did you just laugh?”

“…no?”

“You were laughing at me”

“I’m… ehem”, he coughed to hide his laugh, “I’m… not… making fun of you I just…I can’t… I don’t know why…pfffff”

He couldn’t hold it anymore and he burst laughing.

“Prepare to die!”

Kurapika ran towards him but Gon stood still and kept laughing, with no intention to fight him.

Just a second before he hit Gon, Leorio interfered holding his arms

“What do you think you are doing, you idiot? Calm down, you are drunk… or I'll have to punch you in the face”

“Let me go!” he tried to push him away, violently., but Leorio was stronger.

“Not until you control yourself” Leorio stood calm and determined. Although he thought _how can a boy with such a skinny and fragile body have so much strength? Even when he is drunk?_

He didn't look like he was going to give up, so Leorio just gave him a smack on the head that stunt him for a while.

“ENOUGH!” Leorio suddenly yelled, so loud that it made Gon and Killua stop and turn to him.

“Behave yourselves! I can't take care of you all at the same time, damn it”. Leorio lost the last bit of patience he had.

Killua and Gon had already calmed down a little. Kurapika was still on the floor, but it seemed that Leorio held back his strength too much and couldn't get Kurapika to sleep. After a while, still lying, Kurapika started to take off his clothes.

“…too hot, too hot”, he kept repeating as he took his shirt off, leaving his upper body exposed. His face was burning, feeling the alcohol running to his cheeks. He panted, and started to undo his pants, but at that moment Leorio stopped him.

“Kurapika, stop it. You better go to sleep”

“Please…Leorio, let me take them off... It's too hot, I can't stand the heat!”, he said with a troubled expression, struggling to take his pants off, while Leorio pulled them up to prevent it. He was being so difficult that Leorio had to grab his arms against the floor, and got on top off him immobilizing his movements with his knees.

“Leorio,” he whispered, “please…take them off”, Kurapika begged him with desperate eyes. Leorio looked away, feeling awkward.

“I won't, sorry”, Leorio said.

 Kurapika suddenly lied still, and stopped struggling. He closed his eyes and Leorio thought he fell asleep finally.

“Kurapika?” Leorio looked at him for a moment, before he softly slapped one of his cheeks to confirm he wasn't dead or something like that. After a while he found himself staring at his friend’s peaceful expression, and he could not look away. He felt suddenly strange about that and moved away from him.

“Hey, don't fall asleep in here… you need to get to the bed” Leorio released him, and Kurapika used that moment to get up.

He went from the aggressive state of drunkenness, to the affectionate state, all in one second.

“Leorioooo” Kurapika suddenly regained his energy, and hugged Leorio tightly around his waist.

“What… what the hell do you think you are doing?! you idiot!”

Leorio turned red from his feet to the hair. The warmth coming from his friend's half naked body didn't help much to calm his nerves.

“I like you sooo much!” Kurapika refused to let him go, as much as Leorio tried to get away from him.

“awww, look Killua. Kurapika and Leorio are such good friends”, observed Gon looking at them. “They are not ashamed to demonstrate how much they care for each other. We should be more like them.”

Gon gave Killua a warm smile

“Huh?” Killua looked at him raising an eyebrow, surprised at Gon's innocent way off seeing things.

“Uhh, Gon… I don't think you get. It's… not like that.”

“What do you mean?”, he said, getting close, frowning. “But… I like you… I like being with you, Killua. Don’t you like being with me? Don't you like me?”

Killua looked at him surprised, he didn't see that coming. He looked away, a little embarrassed.

“Don't be stupid, of course I like you…”

Gon's eyes shone again, full of hope and joy. He gave Killua a big tight hug and rubbed his cheeks on Killua’s face.

 _I don't think they mean it like this,_  Killua thought, looking at Kurapika now hanging from Leorio's neck.

Leorio managed to get up with Kurapika still attached to him, holding him in his arms. He was acting like a spoiled baby.

“Ok, let's go sleep…” Leorio said, tired of struggling. “You two…go to bed, I'll have to take care of the drunk…”

The two boys obeyed, already sleepy.

Leorio took Kurapika into the bedroom to help him into bed. For a minute he almost forgot about the "lover's room situation". He had to pretend not to think about it.

He gently placed Kurapika on the bed, who had already fallen asleep in his arms, and tucked him in. He sighed and took a minute to look around the room, staring at the other side of the bed with an awkward felling. 

 _I will need some more booze to get some sleep here tonight,_  he thought, and went to the mini bar to get the bottle of champagne.

He came back with the bottle and a glass, feeling at ease by knowing everyone was finally asleep. He lied on the bed and filled the glass with champagne. In the darkness and silence of the night be began to think about how much he had been through with his friends, remembering with a smile all the good moments. 

_Even if I get mad at them, we always end up laughing._

He turned to Kurapika, fast sleeping by his side, all messed up and with his mouth open. 

_Pffft! You should see your face now, Mister Perfection!_

Leorio had to hold in his laugh or he would have wakened him up. Then he had an idea.

He took a picture of Kurapika with his phone. When he saw it on the screen, he had to cover his mouth with to contain his laugh. He stared at the image for an instant and wondered how many people had ever seen Kurapika like that. He got the feeling that nobody knew him like he did. Looking closer at the picture, Kurapika’s face seemed almost ridiculously cute. He stared at the picture for a bit longer, with a smile on his face. He put away his phone and poured himself another glass of champagne.

Around the third glass he started to feel his eyelids became heavy. He took a last sip of champagne before leaving it on the floor and closing his eyes.

Taking care of everyone else had made Leorio forget that he was already quite drunk himself. For that reason, he doubted his own eyes with what he saw next.

Just before he closed his eyes, he saw a blurry image, but he was certain it was Kurapika, who was resting his whole body on top of him. He thought he was probably imagining it, product of the alcohol in his blood. A second after, he could swear he felt someone breathing on his neck. But he denied to himself to think it was his friend, who a few seconds ago was lying unconsciously drunk by his side. He refused to open his eyes, too afraid to confirm what he suspected. Or perhaps too afraid to be disappointed...

“You still have some liquor.”

No. That was definitely Kurapika’s voice. Leorio made an effort to open his eyes only a little, and saw his friend’s face just a few centimeters apart. His eyes were stuck on his lips, like hypnotized by something, and he suddenly felt the urge to touch them. He followed Leorio’s lips with one finger, forcing him to slightly open his mouth. Leorio closed his eyes again, his breath slowly rising.

He suddenly felt his lower lip being licked, taking away the last bit of champagne left.

“There’s no more…”, Kurapika’s voice sounded troubled. “But, I want… more”

He licked Leorio’s lips one more time, and then softly sucked them.

“Nhh”, Leorio let out a subtle moan.

He was so shocked that he was unable to move. It was so surprisingly pleasant, that he was not able to put any words together in a rational sentence.

“Kurapika… what…what are…”, he said, nearly out of breath.

 Before he could finish his sentence, Kurapika now playing with his tongue through his lips, stopping only to lick his own as he watched him pant from time to time.

“Mmm, that's the flavor I was looking for”, Kurapika finally said, and then continued licking him softly.

They remained like that for some time, Leorio unable to move yet. The alcohol had numbed all his senses. But there was another reason why he didn't move. He was enjoying it. Every time Kurapika got away from his mouth, he felt the urge to tell him not to stop, but he didn't. He kept his eyes closed and remained still, letting him play with his mouth. 

 _We are just drunk… nothing more_ , he kept repeating to himself.

 _I'm more sober than him, so if I follow with it, I'll be taking advantage of him._  

But it was just too much, he couldn't take it anymore.

Kurapika now felt his skin with his hands under Leorio’s shirt, and his mouth moved from his lips to his neck, licking it softly.

“No…Kurapika…I can’t…we ca…” Leorio resisted, but his hands squeezed Kurapika’s back, holding him tightly against him.  

 Kurapika grabbed Leorio’s wrist against the bed, not parting from his lips for one second. Leorio couldn't resist anymore. Even if he was more sober and completely aware of what he was doing, he just couldn't.

He caught Kurapika’s hungry lips in a kiss. He answered it instantly, as if both were longing that moment desperately. Leorio now got on top of him, filling him with kisses all over his face. His lips ran through his neck, and when he reached his chest, he could feel how his heart beat faster and faster. He looked at Kurapika's face, lost in frenzy. Just watching him like that had awoken something in him, multiple different sensations in his body.

Kurapika panted heavily. Leorio cut off this breath with another kiss, running his fingers through his blonde hair.

Leorio stared at him for another moment, admiring every corner of his friend's thin, yet fit body. The played with his golden hair, wondering how he never noticed how soft it was. Kurapika’s big blue eyes were lost in his. Leorio felt that at any moment those sky colored eyes would emit a scarlet gleam.

Kurapika unbuttoned Leorio's shirt, his hands slightly shaking. He took his friend’s shirt off and touched his naked back. When he kissed his shoulders, he noticed how big they were comparing them to his.

Leorio kept his eyes closed, trying to resist the intense pleasure, but he was beginning to lose control too.

He had to stop for a moment, lying on the bed by Kurapika’s side.

Kurapika took a moment to regain his breath, then kissed Leorio again tenderly. Leorio wrapped his arms around him, and Kurapika rested his hands on Leorio’s chest, closing his eyes. They remained like that for a few minutes, until they both begun to fall asleep.

Kurapika turned to the other side, and Leorio cuddled him from behind. He kissed his neck, and softly licked his ear, which made Kurapika moan.

“I… I like that…”, he said, panting heavily.

Those words made Leorio go out of control.

 He kissed his neck again, now softly biting it.

Kurapika moaned loudly.

Leorio suddenly stopped, worried that Gon and Killua could hear them.

“Don’t stop…” Kurapika begged, holding Leorio’s hand and kissing it.

Leorio caressed his mouth with his fingers, still licking his ear. Kurapika moaned again, but his time Leorio introduced two fingers in his mouth, which he sucked, silencing his groan.

“Mmh”, now it was Leorio who let out a sound of pleasure.

He removed his hand from his mouth and went to his thighs, gently massaging them, still breathing on his ear.

“Leo…rio”

When he whispered his name, Leorio felt like his heart would explode. He thought he could go further.

Leorio turned him facing up and climbed on top of him again.  got on top of him again, kissing him from his forehead to his chest. Then he followed an imaginary line with his tongue across his body, stating from his neck, and finishing on his navel.

He looked up at Kurapika's face, who was totally giving in to pleasure, and then kissed his hip bone. Then slowly kissed him a little lower, and lower, until his lips reached his underwear. At that moment Kurapika groaned so loud that even the neighbours would have been able to hear them.

Leorio suddenly stopped.

_What am I doing?_

_He though, astonished by his own actions, and by his friend’s._

Gon and Killua were just in the next room and could hear them or see them at any moment. 

_Moreover, he is my best friend, and he is completely drunk. And I was about to…_

He suddenly froze, staring at Kurapika one more time. He was still panting with his eyes closed, covering his face with his hands, slightly embarrassed.

Leorio sighed. Then he held Kurapika’s hand and kissed it gently. Kurapika opened his eyes, catching his breath. Leorio kissed him now on his forehead and then lied by his side under the sheets, tucking him in as well.

“Leorio?” Kurapika looked at him, puzzled. He was now calmed.

“Good night” Leorio closed his eyes.

Kurapika stared at him for a minute, sitting by his side, trying to understand what just happened between them. He heard a subtle snore and he smiled, watching his friend sleep peacefully. He lied by his side, holding his hand.

“Good night, Leorio.”


	7. And now what...?

Kurapika woke up with a strange flavor in his mouth. When he opened his eyes, everything looked still blurry. Once more he found himself in a strange place, in a strange bed and wearing strange clothes. He turned his head slowly, careful not to move more than necessary, and certain of what his eyes were going to find.

Still, he couldn’t help a gasp when he looked at Leorio sleeping peacefully by his side, for all what happened last night seemed like a dream to him, just an illusion, something unreal. He covered his face under the sheets, still processing everything.

This time he could not ignore what happened. Every time he closed his eyes, he remembered small fragments of it, like putting together the pieces of a puzzle. He slowly regained his memories, recalling every detail so well, that he could even feel some fluttering in his stomach every time he imagined his friend's lips touching his. That, or it was the alcohol that was turning his stomach.

Lost in his thoughts and with his eyes stuck on his friend's face, he suddenly begun to shiver.

He sat on the bed, abruptly.

 _Why the hell did I do that!?_  He thought, horrified, his hands covering his face in shame.  _The worst part is… is that I started it! A rose tone colored his cheeks as the images from last night reached his mind._ He closed his eyes and he pictured himself holding Leorio's arms.

_Oh god…this is so embarrassing! What am I going to do now? How am I supposed to look at him now? and what…what should I say?_

He imagined Leorio’s first reaction: An annoying smirk, mocking tone saying _“I always knew you liked dudes. Admit it, you like me, you want me, just say it. When are you telling Gon and Killua about our little adventure, you little pervert?”_

He panicked. That last thought had upset him so badly he felt like he would throw up.

Suddenly that feeling got materialized…

He ran as fast as he could to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. He felt better and lighter after getting out all the excess of alcohol from his body. The noise woke up Leorio, who knocked the door, worried.

“Kurapika, are you ok?”

Kurapika turned to the bathroom door, which he had forgotten to lock. He rushed to put the lock on before Leorio would come in.

“Y-yes! Yes, I-I'm…perfectly fine!”. He stuttered

He was shaking, not sure if it was because of the anxiety of having to face his friend, or because of the stomach ache. The cramps were back again, and he had to run back to the toilet. The taste of the alcohol coming out of his mouth was so repulsive that he couldn't avoid moaning in pain.

“Kurapika, let me in, I'm starting to get worried.” Leorio said, trying in vain to move the handle, which was locked.

“No! there is no way…”, he paused to cough “I'm alrig…” But before he could even end the phrase, he threw up again.

“Please just open the god damn door!”. Leorio knocked again, this time harder.

Kurapika was still panting, he could hardly breathe. The fact that he didn't have control of his own body was despairing.  _Forget it. I'm never going to open that door, not even if I die._  He thought as he held his stomach with his hands, praying that the pain would go away eventually. Leorio kept on knocking and knocking while he tried to ignore him.

Kurapika really felt terrible, even a little scared, as he had never experienced a hangover like that before and didn't know if the symptoms were normal. The truth is that he would have wanted someone to help him, but he was too embarrassed to let Leorio in.

_I can't. First of all, I don't know what to say about yesterday's episode. And second, I can't let the person I like see me like this…_

At that moment his eyes suddenly opened wide, surprised by his own thoughts. It was true. He liked Leorio. He loved him. He always had. He was just too afraid to accept his feelings. A timid smile appeared on his lips. He had just realized his feelings for him, and part of him was glad and relieved. But that smile faded as fast as it came, and insecurity took over him. What if only _he_ felt that way about his friend? After all, Leorio had resisted last night, and he probably just got carried away under the effects of the alcohol in his body. All trace of happiness left his body, and he suddenly feelt nothing but worry. Worry, and pain, and dizziness. And Leorio wouldn't stop knocking. Gon and Killua could come at any time, worried about all that noise, making the situation even more awkward.

“Can you be any louder!?” Kurapika suddenly yelled, “why don't you just call the whole building then?! Thanks for letting everyone know how pathetic I am!” His voice sounded shaky, as he would burst into tears at any moment.

“Well then open the door! or I’ll… I’ll call the police! or Chairman Netero if I have to!”

There was no answer. Leorio was losing his patience

“You know what? that’s it…I’m breaking this fucking door…”

“Can't you understand that I don't want you to see me like this?!”, Kurapika yelled in an emotional voice.

Leorio suddenly stopped. There was a moment of silence.

“I'm too embarrased…”, admitted Kurapika finally

Leorio came close to the door, resting his hands and forehead on it. He sighed, and then spoke softly.

“Kurapika… I'm not going to make fun of you. I'm your friend. And if you don't want me to come in as your friend, think of me as your doctor. OK?”

Kurapika hesitated a second, but finally unlocked the door and opened it just a little. Leorio came in and saw his friend’s pale and troubled face, his eyes fixed to the floor.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of. Don't be silly, do you really think I have never been through this? I'm more experienced than you in this kind of stuff, so it's my duty as your friend to take care of you.”

Kurapika nodded with his head, his eyes still looking down. Leorio opened his suitcase, looking for medicines. In that moment, Kurapika rushed to the toilet once more.

“Don't…look at me,” He muttered in pain

“Ok, ok, I'm not looking.” Leorio turned away and looked at the fish in the aquarium.

“I don't believe you”, he said, panting.

“Let’s see…I'm watching three different fish at this moment. Would you like me to describe them to you?”

Kurapika puked again, and to his surprise, Leorio sat by his side, rubbing his back and holding his forehead. Strangely, he didn’t feel embarrassed anymore. That somehow reminded him of when he used to get sick when he was little, and his father took care of him. Leorio handed him a glass of water and a towel, and then helped him up.

His doctor friend stood close to him, studying his every movement, signs and signals his body could show. He gently set aside his blond bangs with his fingers. Kurapika closed his eyes and felt his friend’s strong ang warm hand against his forehead. The feeling was oddly relaxing, but for some reason his heartbeat rose. He opened his eyes, and looked directly into Leorio’s hazelnut eyes, staring back at him with a serious, calm look. Kurapika’s eyes went from his eyes to his lips, only a few inches away from his own. A sudden feeling of desire invaded him, too strong to keep looking. He looked away, his face suddenly burning.

“You have a fever”

“Huh?”, Kurapika muttered. He was not able to focus on his friend’s words.

“I said you have a fever. Your temperature has increased.”

“I don’t feel well…” He had to sit on the floor again.

“Take your shirt off…” ordered Leorio. His voice still serious.

Kurapika looked up at him, surprised, but said nothing. As if he was waiting for him to say it was a joke. But his friend’s eyes remained the same.

At that very moment, Kurapika realized that Leorio wasn’t wearing a shirt. He then looked at himself and at the oversized shirt he was wearing. It was Leorio’s shirt. For some reason he had been wearing it since last night.

Now the embarrassment came back, only a hundred times worse, making the situation even more awkward.

He was petrified. Leorio waited a few more seconds but his friend was not reacting

“Kurapika, I need you to take off your shirt so I can take a blood test,” he said in a soft tone, and then opened his eyes wide and raised his eyebrows.

“Oh!”, Kurapika finally reacted. “R-right... a blood… a blood test of course”. He cleared his throat and tried to remain serious. He could almost swear he saw Leorio slightly grinning, but decided it was just him being paranoid.

He unbuttoned his shirt -Leorio’s shirt really- and tried his best to fight away the thoughts of how he was taking off that same shirt from the person who was now nursing him.

Leorio kneeled by his side with his suitcase and took out some sort of small pencil with a needle at the end, and a squared device that looked like a calculator. He took his friend's arm, rubbing some alcohol where he was going to place the needle. That smell almost made Kurapika throw up again, but he was able to hold it in. Leorio noticed this.

“You are not intoxicated with alcohol”, he stated

“Really?” he asked, surprised “How can you be so sure? I really had a lot last night…”

Leorio, who was staring at the device, looked up and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, my bad. That was a stupid question,” he accused himself, “you are the doctor, the one who knows this stuff…”

“If you are trying to be funny with your sarcasm…”

“I wasn’t! I mean it.”

“Actually… your question is not that stupid. It’s hard to tell the symptoms. But with the help of this little device I can detect blood anomaly, and only by using _nen_ I can detect the exact problem by touching the patient. It's faster than taking the samples to a lab for analysis.”

“I see, that's brilliant.”

Leorio smiled proudly, and then hand him another glass of water and a pill.

“Take this. And you need to drink a lot of water, you are dehydrated”

Kurapika obeyed instantly, listening to his friend's advice carefully.

“You were having an allergic reaction to something you ate. It wasn't intoxication by alcohol, even though that only made it worse. So don't worry, you'll be fine. You can drink whatever you want from tomorrow on, as long as you don’t do it in excess. Are you feeling any better now?”

Kurapika was staring at him with a warm smile

“Thanks Leorio, you will be a great doctor one day. The best doctor. There is no doubt.”

Leorio wasn't used to such compliments from his friend, and the red of his cheeks was proof of it. He tried to remain cool, and then patted Kurapika’s head, messing with his hair. They both chuckled.

Then Leorio’s face turned serious again, his hand now cupping Kurapika’s face. Kurapika closed his eyes, still a little afraid to move. There was a moment of silence, until Leorio broke the ice.

“Ok then. Now please get into the shower you reek of alcohol. Quickly…or would you like me to do that for you as well?”

“No thanks!” He replied immediately.

Leorio got up and walked towards the door.

“Oh, and before I forget...do you think I can get back my shirt? It’s my favorite, you know, but if you like it that much, you can keep it. You will smell my scent every time you use it...” He said with a mischievous smile. Nothing amused him as much as teasing his shy friend.

“OUT!”

Kurapika pushed him out of the bathroom along with his shirt, feeling his heart beating in his ears. He locked the door and then went into the hot tub. Once he calmed down, he felt much better, and almost forgot about last night's situation.

_Leorio always knows how to handle this kind of things._

He thought, smiling. He was finally able to relax. He looked at his arm through the water and stared at the spot where Leorio had taken his blood samples. He noticed he didn't leave any mark, not even a scratch. He suddenly thought about his friend in a different way he used to.

_I’ve never seen him like that before, so concentrated, so into his job…I mean, I’ve always seen the potential in him as a hunter, but never in his professional field…_

He could no longer see him as the light-headed clown of the group... 

 _Even though that's what I've always liked about him...H_ _e_ thought.

But deep down, Kurapika had always been attracted to smart people, and he couldn’t stop thinking about Leorio's serious face close to his, taking care of him, with his toned abs nearly touching his body. 

_God, he looked hot…_

_An image of a half naked Leorio taking blood samples came to his mind, and he suddenly found himself daydreaming about his friend’s body, oddly turned on._

_When he realized this, he shook his head from side to side, to bring himself back to reality, and then let himself slowly sink into the water until he was completely covered by it._

_Shit… I totally fell for that idiot!_

 


	8. Decisions

When the trip to the hot springs was over, everyone was relaxed and full of energy. Kurapika recovered quickly, and they were able to enjoy the rest of their stay in the spa. Leorio and Kurapika took their two friends to the airport to say goodbye. Gon and Killua wished they could stay longer, but Kite had let them go only for a few days for a visit. They had received a call from him saying that the results of the chimera ant exam were ready, so they had to go back for their training.

They said goodbye, promising to meet again all four, and Gon swore that the next time they saw each other they would meet Ging, determined to find him.

Leorio and Kurapika waited for the two younger to board the airplane, and then took a cab back home.

They sat in the back seat in silence for a few minutes, thoughtfully. It was Leorio who broke the ice.

"Hey, uh, how do you feel about italian food for lunch?" He asked.

"Sure, I'm starving" replied Kurapika with enthusiasm. But his enthusiasm quickly faded as he patted his pockets, unable to find his wallet. "Oh... but I forgot my wallet in the apartment" he said, disappointed.

"Nah.. don't worry, lunch's on me" He winked at him.

"Oh! Uh, thank you" He gave him a shy smile.

In the last few hours there had been a weird atmosphere between them, but it seemed to him that finally things were getting back to normal. Although, there was something that had changed for sure.

 _"Maybe the hot springs were good for him."_   Kurapika wondered.  _"He is acting very nice and generous, and gentle...and he is not even caring about money...that sure is a thing for him"._

He smiled when Leorio wasn't looking, and then looked out the window, thoughtfully.

"It will get a little bit lonely now." Observed Kurapika.

"Yeah, I know. I was just getting used to the four of us being together again." Leorio sighed. His eyes nearly tearing. The thought of not being able to see his friends again made him deeply sad. And whener Leorio was sad, the only way to get out of it was joking.

"Although..." He turned to Kurapika, grinning malevolently. "I don't mind having some time alone for us again." He said in a charming, low voice.

Kurapika turned to him, and saw how close he had gotten to his face. Leorio cornered him against the window with one arm, softly placing his other hand on Kurapika's thigh.

 

It was so sudden that Kurapika barely had time to react. He felt how his blood ran up to his ears, giving them a bright red gleam. His heart racing.

Kurapika finally moved aside and kicked him to the other corner of the seat, taking distance with his legs.

"Y-you...what's wrong with you!?" Kurapika tried his best not to yell more than necessary, to avid the driver's attention" We are in a taxi, are you crazy?"

"hahahahahaha" Leorio laguhed so hard that he had to grab his belly with his hands" Hey, relax! it's just a joke!"

Kurapika clenched his fists.

 _He always, ALWAYS makes me look like an idiot... he is just the same douschebag ."_   Kurapika thought with anger, holding in his will to punch his face.  _"H_ _e enjoys pissing me off. But not this time...I will not give him the satisfaction.._.

He crossed his arms against his chest, and sat tall. "I warn you, I'm ordering all the expensive stuff from the menu."

"That's cruel" He looked at him, with a painful look.

Kurapika gave the driver the directions for their usual Italian food spot, but Leorio interrupted giving a new address, a little farther from downtown. Kurapika was surprised but said nothing.

The car stopped at a very classy Italian restaurant, it's style was luxurious but without being ostentatious. They waited a few seconds at the entrance with a group of people in a line for a table. When they went inside, a waiter waved at Leorio. They followed him to a balcony where a table was set for them with a candle, and a red and white checkerboard table cloth. Kurapika sat and looked around the place while Leorio chatted with the waiter.

"I used to work here" He told Kurapika as he sat in front of him.

"I see, that's why every one knows you. I was beginning to think you were someone important that I didn't know." He smiled sarcastically.

"Very funny...for your information I was the best waiter, and this job got me lots of girlfriends" He smiled with pride.

"Yeah, I can imagine. Were you as good as you where with those girls at the spa?"

That was like a shot right in the middle of his pride. Hurt, he was determined to subtly show Kurapika his charms.

"Anyway, would you like me to recommend something from the menu?"

He had stood up and held the menu for his friend. 

"That would be great, you are the expert after all." 

Leorio came closer. His chest leaning on Kurapika's back. His thick arms surrounding his friend's thin body from behind. He gently rested his chin on his friend's shoulder, his mouth slightly touching his ear. Kurapika couldn't help a gasp. He was too scared to move now.

Leorio read the menu in a perfect Italian accent, while Kurapika tried -without success- to focus on the food.

"...Kurapika? are you listening?"

"Y-yes"

"How do you like it?" He whispered into his ear, and he felt like he was melting inside.

"Wa-what?" He could feel the heat on his cheeks, now bright red.

"The meat... we were talking about the meat. Would you like it well cooked, or juicy?" 

"No, I...I think I'll pass on the meat for today"

"Alrgith, then I shall recommend this seafood pasta." He leaned over to turn the page. "Did you know that seafood is aphrodisiac?"

"Ah! look at this! "He desperately tried to change the subject" I know what I want. I'll have the uh... the mozzarella pizza." He said as he moved forward a little, taking distance with Leorio.

He gave a quick glance and watched out of the corner of his eye how his friend grinned with satisfaction. 

"Excellent choice. Anything else?

Kurapika just shook his head from side to side, unable to talk.

The waiter interrupted them. 

"Leorio, are you here to take my job? or to have dinner with your girlfriend?" He asked in a sarcastic tone, Leorio laughed with him

"I-I'm not..." Kurapika tried to complain but his voice wouldn't come out. He was just too embarrassed and awkwardly turned on.

"I can see you are teaching him your special move" The waiter observed.

Kurapika felt like an idiot. He now realized how Leorio had been teasing him. He turned to him and gave him a deadly glare. 

 

"Well, that's how I got all the girl's phone numbers." Leorio smiled.

Kurapika tried to keep his cool.

"Perhaps it worked when you were young." He recovered with a joke. 

"Pfff whahahhaa!" The waiter laughed hysterically. "I like your friend, he is funny. You are Kurapika, right? Leorio talked a lot about you."

"Did he?" He asked, genuinely surprised. "And what did he say about me? I bet just bad things..."

"Oh, on the contrary! he always mentioned how cool and smart you were... although he did complain sometimes about how stubborn and arrogant you were. But he was always in a bad mood when you wouldn't answer your phone..."

"Alright!" Interrupted Leorio, embarrassed "Who's hungry? I'm starving! lets order!"

They cheerfully enjoyed their meals, and after they were done they headed back to the apartment. Just before the building entrance, Leorio stopped

"Hey, Kurapika..." He said, suddenly serious.

"Yeah?"

"What are you planning to do now?"

"I don't know...probably just take a shower and sleep, I guess... why?"

"No, I meant... What are you going to do... from now on?"

"Oh..." He took a second to process his friend's words. "I, uh,...I guess I really haven't thought about it yet."

Until that moment Kurapika didn't think about what he would now that Leorio was healthy and passed his admission exam. In fact, he just realized that Leorio was probably expecting him to find his own place now. The semester was about to start in a few months, and Leorio had to leave soon to another country. Suddenly that simple question had made his world fall apart. He stood there in silence.

"Well..." Leorio scratched his neck, anxiously. Kurapika observed his friend's troubled face and feared the worst. " Don't get mad at me, Kurapika, but..."

 _Oh no..._ Kurapika's heart froze. Leorio looked away.

"I kinda...uh... I postponed the scholarship for the next year."

"You what?"

"A scholarships can be postpone for another semester. So don't worry I will not loose it."

"Yes,Leorio, I know how universities work." He replied, annoyed. "My question is... why? You worked so hard for this..."

"There's something I want to do first" He turned to him again, and looked at him with determination. "I want to improve my nen skills. Also... I want you to be my teacher."

He did not see that coming

"But...Leorio I'm not qualified to be a teacher. Besides, you know that my nen ability is very personal and has a lot of specific restrictions. It only works on the Genei Ryodan. I have even killed people... I am not a good example..."

"Don't say that..Even so, I think your fighting skills are amazing. I want you to be my teacher. At least until I find an official tutor"

"Alright, but I will only help you work on your aura...and you shall call me master" He said firmly.

"I will not call you master"

Kurapika sighed."What would you do without me?" He joked.

"I would be lost..."

Leorio suddenly hugged him, holding him tight against his chest.

Kurapika stood still, surprised. Then he felt relieved, but he did not answer his words or his hug.

 _" Im the one who is lost without you..."_ He thought.

From the way Leorio acted around him, he was sure he only felt a great friendly affection for him. He was not willing to risk all that relationship for one confusing feeling. In that moment, while Leorio held him close, he started to think about their current relationship.

_"Leorio is still the same person with me...except for his constant sexual harassment, much frequent now. But I'm sure he just enjoys annoying me. And we are close enough to do so...as friends. Just...friends..."_

Right there, Kurapika decided he couldn't lose that important friendship, resigned to ignore his own feelings.

"Lets go upstairs, I'm so tired...dinner was delicious, thank you!" Kurapika said as he let go of his friend's arms. Leorio looked at him, and noticed that although he was smiling, his eyes showed seep pain. Those sky blue eyes Leorio had always worshiped, had now turned grey and gloomy. He could swear he saw a tear trying to come out. He wondered what made him feel like that. Was it because he decided to stay with him? Maybe he made him feel guilty...He wanted to ask, but he was too scared to get an answer he wouldn't like. His friend had always been like that, it was hard to get the words out of him after all.

They walked all the way up to the apartment in silence. Leorio wouldn't stop wondering what had happened to Kurapika. When they reached the apartment door, they both went for the doorknob at the same time, making their hands touch. Kurapika looked uncomfortable, and took some distance.

Leorio looked at him, puzzled, and then opened the door. He was beginning to wonder if he could perhaps be feeling awkward around him after what happened at the hotel. 

Leorio had always had feelings for Kurapika, but it all became more clear to him the day he came to live with him. He had decided he would not do anything about it, because he liked how things were between them already. Everything had always been perfect as they were. He avoided getting too physical with him so it wouldn't make him uncomfortable. But right now that was exactly how he felt things were going.

But Everything changed that night. That damned, yet oh so heavenly night at the hotel. After feeling him, his lips, his body, Leorio found himself unable to stop wanting him. He couldn't afford to stay away from him, to touch him, hold him, caress him, to look at him tenderly. But now Kurapika had noticed, and he was beginning to show himself uncomfortable.

Leorio did not regret kissing him, not for one second. Yet he was not ready to accept losing his friend. 

He set aside those desirable memories, locked safely in a place withing his heart. Somewhere so deep that nobody would be able to find them, not even himself. And decided to turn everything back as it was before.

They entered the apartment, still in silence. 

Kurapika went into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Leorio went straight to bed. without the hope of waiting for his friend to come join him.

Nobody wished goodnight that evening.


	9. Hypocrites

"Good morning!" Said Leorio, energetic. "Today is a great day to have coffee."

"Morning" Kurapika replied from the desk, his eyes fixed on the computer's screen. Leorio observed how Kurapika was completely focused on something, and curious, he came closer to see what he was looking at.

"What is that?" He asked, standing by his side.

"Looking for a job." He still didn't look at Leorio.

"Hmm... what happened to the Nostrad's bodyguard thing?."

"I'm supposed to be on vacation. They said they didn't want me to quit, so they gave me all the time I needed. But I'm just looking for something like a part-time job. Something to kill time while you are studying" He said as he scrolled down the page, skipping tons of blacklist hunter jobs. "I don't want anything too complicated. I was thinking something more like this."

He pointed with the mouse cursor at a librarian job ad.

"Oh, I see. In that case you should like this one better. Same salary and less hours." Leorio placed his hand on top of his Kurapika's hand, still on the mouse, and clicked on the ad. Kurapika made an uncomfortable face and immediately removed his hand. Leorio didn't notice.

"What do you think?" Leorio leaned on his friend's shoulder, cheek against cheek.

"Uhh y-yes, sure... uh... do you wanna have breakfast? I'll prepare something, I'm starving."  He rushed to the kitchen without waiting for the answer.

Leorio looked at him, puzzled, wondering if he had done something wrong. Was he being meddling too much into something that was none of his concern? He was trying his best to lower the tension between them, and trying to return things back the way they were. Maybe all he needed to do was to take some distance. But nothing seemed to work lately. All he did was advice him about a job, like any friend would do. Was that prying too much? All these questions were starting to upset him and make him anxious. He needed more drastic methods.

What he did not know was that all his efforts were in vain, for the problem was not his actions towards his friend, but his friend's own feelings which he had no clue of.

 

Kurapika was making coffee when he heard Leorio speaking on the phone in the next room. He stopped to listen to the conversation, trying not to be noticed -even though it was not really necessary, as Leorio was practically yelling, like we wanted to be heard-

"...it's been a long time! how are you?...fine, I'll be in the city for a while...would you like to go out with me like we used to?... why not?...that's not true, I would have never stood you up. Come on, you know I've never stopped thinking about you. Think about it,  you and me and some drinks and then... yes?... alright! Then I'll pick you up at 6...see you!"

 _"A girl."_ Kurapika thought in the kitchen. A sinister smirk appeared on his lips suddenly. " _I see, he always has someone"._

He felt a sharp pain in the middle of his chest. Like a big hole growing bigger and bigger with every thought.  _"Of course, anyone will do for him. Man, woman, friend, stranger... and I thought I was..."_ He put a stop to his own thoughts. _"What ever. I was foolish"_. He told to himself.

Leorio came back, whistling a cheerful melody, and with a big smile. Kurapika served coffee in silence.

"Would you like sugar or sweetener?" Asked Leorio, trying to start a conversation.

"I'm fine." Replied Kurapika, bitterly. His nose wrinkled to the bitterness of his coffee. 

There was an awkward silence before Leorio spoke again.

"I have a date tonight."

"Excellent! That's wonderful! Good for you!- Kurapika replied right away, unusually cheerful. His smile was so fake it was almost creepy. Leorio wondered what was that about but said nothing.

"Uh... alright, so... before that, I could go with you to your interview and the we could..."

"No thank you."

"Uh, ok. Could you give it a little more thought?" Said Leorio, and took a sip from his coffee.

"Gotta go"

Kurapika got up without finishing his breakfast, and went out for a walk. He wandered among the streets with no direction, until he finally decided to go to the job interview. That way he could at least have something else to think of. 

 _I don't know why do I even bother...It's not like it has anything to do with me. Besides..."_ He thought "... _I have already decided that I'm not going to do anything about it"._

He sighed, and his anger was now gone. Only to be replaced by pain.

He sat on the nearest bench in the park, and stayed there for a few minutes to clear his thoughts. After a few minutes he realized there was a girl sitting by his side. She looked very elegantly dressed. Her face was covered by a thick book she was reading. He stared at the book for a moment.

"Dostoievsky" He finally said "I can see you have good taste in literature."

The girl closed to book all of a sudden, uncovering her face. 

"N-Neon!" Kurapika stuttered in surprise

The girl frowned at him and gave him a glare through her fake glasses, bringing a finger to her lips.

"Shhh!"

"What... what are you doing here?" Kurapika asked in a low voice, looking around. "You are going to get in trouble, you will make your father angry."

"Sh! That's why you need to keep your voice down!" She whispered loudly.

"Is someone following you?"

"Don't worry, I'm on my own. I came here to find you... I miss you. Senritsu is no fun."

"Neon... I'm on vacation right now"

"I know, I know! I'm not here to bother you. I just wanted to hang out with you, like in a date. No work"

"I can't go out with my boss's daughter Neon, please have some common sense." Kurapika sighed, bringing his palm to his forehead. "Besides, if we go out together, I would still try to protect you, even if I'm not getting paid for it. Even if you didn't ask me to do so. And then it will be like working all the same"

"I swear I'll behave. I won't get us into trouble" She said, clinging from his neck

"It's...it's not just that..." Kurapika looked away, thoughtful 

"Huh? Then what is it? If you don't have a valid excuse, you can't say no"

Kurapika sighed again, unable to find an excuse.

"Fine..." He finally agreed. "But just for today. Come."

He knew it wasn't a good idea, but he also knew how persistent she could be, and there was a police car patrolling. He grabbed her by her wrist and took her out of the park. He was worried about someone following them, so he thought it would be better if he didn't go to the job interview after all. Instead, he took her to an ice cream place. They had some ice cream, and chatted for a bit - mostly Neon did the chatting part-. He looked at his watch, "1:15", and remembered Leorio would not go on his date until 6 that evening. For a moment he regretted not going to the interview and have something to do to keep his mind away from the thoughts of Leorio and his ex girlfriend. At least  hanging out with Neon gave him something to do for now. In fact, he was almost enjoying it. She could be very nice when she wasn't behaving like a spoiled brat.

They spent the rest of the day together. They had lunch and went to the movies. Kurapika was able to stop thinking about Leorio from time to time, and by the end of the day, he walked Neon home and head back to the apartment. He looked at his watch, "7:50". It was still early. Leorio probably was not back yet. Even more, it was very possible he was not even coming home to sleep that night.

On his way home, Kurapika thought about a relaxing night in bed and a nice book, which was very comforting. He was thinking about this when he opened the apartment door...

"Oh, hi!" Leorio was sitting on the couch between two unfamiliar girls watching a futball match.

Kurapika, disappointing by having his plan for a relaxing night ruined, had to count to 10 before he kicked everyone out. 

"I see you are home early?" He faked a smile, and Leorio could tell he was trying his best to hide his anger behind a polite smile.

"Yeah, well, you see... my _friend_..." He empathized on that word before Kurapika could say anything. Kurapika's eyebrow twitched when he heard it. "My friend stood me up, probably as revenge for last time. But anyway, I bumped into these two lovely ladies who where wandering around looking for some fun, and they agreed to join us to watch the football match" 

 

"Join us..." Kurapika stared at him with a poker face

"Leorio" said one of the girls sitting on the couch, her legs crossed and in a mini skirt. She was holding Leorio's arm. She scanned Kurapika from his feet to his face, twice "You never told us your friend was such a cutie." She said, biting her lower lip. The other girl giggled.

"Oh yeah? do you...do you think so?" Leorio looked away from Kurapika, trying to act indifferent. 

"Good night" Kurapika almost yelled, walking away from him. All he wanted now was just to put his headphones on and get some sleep. But before he reached the room, Leorio stopped him by his arm.

"I made something nice for you for dinner..." Leorio said in a low voice, looking at his feet. He was still unable to look at his friend in the eyes, but he could tell he was upset. "Hey, why don't you eat with us and watch the match before you go to sleep?"

Kurapika hesitated a moment. But then he looked at Leorio's troubled face and he could no longer find the strength in him to refuse him. 

 

After they ate, the four of them sat on the couch. There was an awkward atmosphere. Leorio's full attention was on the screen, ignoring the questions of one of the girls. The other one tried to flirt with Kurapika, who completely ignored her, and instead watched carefully how the other girl flirted at Leorio. After a while, both girls looked at each other and shrugged, thinking:  _"These two are really weird"._

"Ok, now I'm going to bed" Kurapika yawned. The match was over. "Thanks for the food", he said, and went into the bedroom.

For some reason he now felt more relieved after that diner.

He took his shirt off and lied on top of the sheets, too lazy to get in.  _"Even so, I think I'm going to still put on the headphones, just in case. I don't want to hear anything ...unnecessary"._

He played the music on and let his body relax. He was almost falling asleep when he felt someone's weight by his side on the bed. He jumped a little, as he didn't hear anyone coming.

Leorio was lying in the middle of the bed, one of his legs dangling across the whole bed and over Kurapika.

"Leorio! you scared the hell out of me!" Kurapika said, catching his breath. "Move, you are crushing my ribs"

"Just scooch over a tiny bit, I'm falling off" Leorio pushed him with his elbow

"The bed is not big enough for both of us. Go back to the couch. Weren't you the one who insisted so much in letting me sleep in the bed?" Kurapika pushed him back with his knee

"I can't, Rosie and Mafalda are using the couch"

"The blonde one is Matilda, not Mafalda"

"Whatever. Don't be so selfish, just move a little"

Kurapika finally gave in. He sighed and turned his back at him, a bit annoyed. Leorio lied face-down

"So...your _friend_ rejected you. And what's up with these others _friends_?"

"Well, what about them?"

"Did it...uh, did it work out...for you?" Kurapika blushed in the dark, so Leorio could not see his embarrassment when he talked about these subjects.

"Why would you think I was after something? Can't I just have friends?"

"Sure... _friends_. Yeah, you can have all the _friends_ you want, Leorio. You like having lots of _friends._ "

Leorio paused for a moment, resting his head on his elbow to look at Kurapika, thoughtful. Then he smirked

"Are you jealous?"

"Yeah right..." Kurapika scoffed "As if I would be jealous. You wish..."

"Don't worry! you are my one and only best friend!" 

"Who's worrying!?" Kurapika yelled, turning to him

"Shhh. Don't shout, you are going to wake up our guests" He said, trying to contain his laugh

" _Your_  guests, you mean"

"ok, ok! Anyway, how was the interview?"

"I didn't go" Kurapika said, more calmed now. He turned his back at Leorio again.

"Why? What happened?"

"Nothing" Continued Kurapika "I met Neon at the park and she insisted on going somewhere. I couldn't leave her alone, so we had lunch together, and then I took her to the movies, and later we..."

"Wait...you had a date with Neon?" Interrupted Leorio, surprised by his friend's words

"No. Well...not exactly..."

"Really? because that's exactly how a date sounds like" Leorio sat on the bed, arms crossed against his chest.

"Call it whatever you want. I don't care" Said Kurapika, covering himself under the blankets

"Look, I understand you want to go out with someone, but couldn't you choose someone more...suitable? She is your boss's daughter, you know?"

"That's why I'm telling you, we are not going out"

"But you went out today" 

"Yes but..."

"Did you kiss her?"

"What!?"

"Did you kiss her yes or not?"

"What?! No! What's wrong with you..."

"Then why are you so nervous?"

"I...w-why are we even talking about this! Is this interrogation really necessary? cut it out already, I just want to sleep"

"Sorry, but It's funny how you react to these situations" Leorio had to cover his mouth to contain his laugh

"...I hate you"

"I know" Leorio smirked

"Good night" Kurapika wrapped himself with the sheets again

"Good night" Leorio did the same, his back against Kurapika's back.

There was a long silence

"Leorio?" Whispered Kurapika. "Are you sleeping?"

"Not yet"

"Tomorrow I'm going to wake you up at 6 am. I mean... technically, it's today."

"...I hate you"

"I know"

"Good night"

"Good night"

They both fell asleep with a smile on their face, waiting for tomorrow's training.


	10. Decisions II

 "Ouch! What was that for?", complained Leorio, rubbing his head where Kurapika had smacked him.

"I told you, every time you get distracted I'll punish you. Now... zetsu!"

It was a training day. They went for a run across the park. Leorio was supposed to change his nen state everytime Kurapika demanded to do so. Half of the time Leorio was caught off-guard, but he was physically in better shape than his nen instructor, which helped him catch up quickly. 

 

"Gyo!"

This time Leorio did well, but 200 feet later he turned to a woman who passed by them. His eyes fixed on the girl's, going up and down as she ran. Leorio suddenly felt a large log hit his head, falling on his face. Kurapika had pulled a whole tree and thrown it at Leorio for getting distracted. He did not realize his level of overreaction until he noticed Leorio was no longer getting up right away, as he did many times before.

"Oh... " he gasped, "maybe I used too much strength"

An old couple passing by stopped to check if Leorio was alright. They turned to Kurapika, who was standing there with an awkward expression.

"Is your friend alright?" They asked him.

"y-yes... he is perfectly fine!" He lied, " He always does that when we are running, haahaha", he laughed as he as he helped Leorio up. The couple walked away.

"What the hell is wrong with you are you trying to kill me?!" yelled Leorio as soon as he got up, slapping Kurapika in the head.

"You knew the rules! It was part of the training!" Kurapika punched him back.

"Ughhh! you...! you are a...!" Leorio mumbled in exasperation, unable to put words together. "AH! You are the most annoying teacher ever!" He finally said, crossing his arms.

"Well, then go find a better one!" Kurapika looked away, arrogantly.

"Shut up..." Leorio scoffed. "You know what? It's enough for today, let's go get something to eat. I'm exhausted."

* * *

 

After lunch, they went back to the apartment. Kurapika looked like he was in a hurry. He took a quick shower. After a minute or so, he went out of the bathroom half dressed and with the toothbrush in his mouth, yelling unintelligible words.

"Weowio awe you heen my wed hir?!"

"What?" Asked Leorio from the living room.

"My red shirt", Kurapika removed the toothbrush from his mouth to speak clearly, "have you seen it?"

"Don't ask me, I don't wear girls clothes. My arms wouldn't fit", he teased him.

Kurapika rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore him, and kept looking for his shirt everywhere.

Leorio observed him from the couch, pretending to be reading the newspaper.

"You seem like you are in a hurry..." he said, "are you going out or something?"

"I'm late, I need to be in downtown in 20 minutes" he said, looking in the drawers. "Here it is! I found it! see? I knew it was in your side"

"May I ask who are you going out with?"

"Sure, it's no secret. I'm taking Neon to the theme park" he said as he finished buttoning his shirt.

"Oh..." He fixed his eyes in the newspaper. "Neon...again".

"Correct"

"Another of those _dates_ which aren't _dates_ , but aren't work either?" he asked with sarcastically

"No, this time we are going on a real date. I asked her out" He said as he walked into the living room.

Leorio put down the newspaper down and turned to him. He did not see that coming.

"I-I see. So you are serious about... her. A girl..."

Kurapika took a deep breath.

"Ok...What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing" He looked away. "Nothing, I just...I thought you... you were..."

Kurapika gave him a threatening glare, raising an eyebrow.

"That I was _what_ , Leorio..."

"...That you were... you know..."

"What? gay? Homosexual? Is that what you are trying to say? Why is it so hard to say it?"

"Yes, I mean...no. I was going to say more like...not interested in women..."

Kurapika stared at him in silence with a serious look on his face. Leorio could tell right away he screwed up and tried to fix it, only making things worse.

"No...I meant...not interested in women... or men..." He pretended to read the newspaper gain, hiding his face behind it. "But seems like I was wrong. I guess you are pretty popular. Among women... and men" he almost whispered.

"You are such an idiot sometimes, Leorio" Kurapika said, disappointed and angry, turning his back at Leorio.

He remained silent.

"Who knows" continued Kurapika. "Maybe I am serious about Neon, after all..."

"Ha!" Leorio scoffed "I knew it! I always knew it, I don't know why you even tried to deny it. Is it because you are ashamed of her? Maybe you don't want to be seen in the company of such a spoiled, rude brat? Oh! Wonderful! You have so much in common already..."

Kurapika felt his blood boil.

"At least she is not at asshole! Unlike you!"

Leorio was petrified on the couch, still hiding behind the newspaper, too scared to look at him. 

 

He heard Kurapika slam the door, and a second later it cracked open again

"Don't wait for me or call me!" he yelled, still holding onto the doorknob "And one more thing...the newspaper is upside down, you moron!" He slammed the door once again and disappeared behind it.

"UGH!" Leorio screamed in frustration. He turned the newspaper into a tiny ball with his hands. His nen concentrated in his hands, unintentionally, intensifying with his anger. He threw the tiny, wrinkled piece of paper, piercing the wall like a bullet.

He clenched his fists for another moment, panting. He then took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Why am I acting like a fool..." He asked himself. "I already made up my mind about our relationship as just friends..."

He sighed, resting his forehead between his hands.

Just when things where about to get back to normal between them, the had to open his mouth...

He couldn't help but to feel a pain in his chest. As if someone was crushing his heart into pieces.

Insecurity was driving him crazy.

_I simply can't stop thinking about him...wondering what he will be doing with that girl..._

He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, trying hard to think of something else.

He leaned his back on the couch, covering his face with one hand. He could feel the tears battling to burst out.

There was nothing else left to do, except to forget about him. But living with him was making it even harder. Seeing him every day, eating together, sleeping together. Laughing, even arguing, everything made their relationship so special.

He thought of his picture on his phone. The one picture Kurapika never knew about. That picture was the perpetual reminder that he could have belong to him, and only him. He pictured his smile. That smile... he had waited to see it again for so long. And now he was the one wiping it away.

Yet he couldn't stop wanting him. Needing him. And wishing to be needed by him too. Willing to hold him in the middle of the night when he is having a nightmare. All he could think of was how much he needed to be with him. To touch him. To feel his smooth skin against his own. To feel his hair between his fingers. Desperately wanting to finish what they started that day in the hotel room.

He felt needy. Selfish and guilty. Filthy.

He lied down, silent, torn into pieces.

He remained like that for a while, until the phone rang. He couldn't find the strength to get up.

The phone kept ringing and ringing for another five times before he picked it up.

He checked the missed calls, it was his ex girlfriend...

* * *

 

Kurapika ran down the stairs, wondering why Leorio was behaving like that.

"He is always messing with me, bullying me, teasing me. But he's never called me a liar", he thought out loud.

"I never intended to have date with Neon that day, that wasn't a lie. And besides...it's not like I'm cheating on him or something…he's not my boyfriend".

He slowed down his pace for a moment when he realized something

"Maybe he is jealous?"

That sudden thought made him stop in the middle of the street.

But this only annoyed him even more.

"Why is he not honest about it then? Why does he have to behave like a child...It's completely understandable to be jealous, we are best friends, after all..."

This last thought made him somehow relieved, yet sad at the same time. "That's probably it...we are...friends"

The bus to downtown stopped right in front of him. The driver honked, asking if he was getting in or not. Kurapika got on the bus and headed to his date.

 

When he arrived at the theme park Neon was already there, waiting for him and holding two tickets

"Neon why didn't you wait for me to buy the tickets?" Kurapika asked.

"There's no need, silly! My dad has free tickets" She said, cheerfully clinging onto his arm

 

"y-your father?" he asked, nervously looked around. "Is your father around?"

He didn't want to find out what his boss would think of him going on date with his daughter.

"Of course not, he just brought me here. I told him I was going out with you so he let me come"

Kurapika sighed in relief

"Huh? why are you afraid of my dad? He trusts you. More than me, probably. I'm sure he'd rather have you as his son.. or at least his son-in-law", she said, carelessly, without noticing Kurapika's face turning slightly red.

"Don't say such things, Neon..." he said, changing the subject "Look, it's our turn to go in. What would you like to do first?"

He looked at the map. but Neon already knew what she wanted to do.

"That one!" she pointed at the biggest roller coaster

"R-right...but, don't you think that one looks better to start with?" He pointed at an attraction which looked less dangerous, without having any idea of what a haunted house was like. It was his first time at a theme park after all.

Neon looked at the attraction, not very convinced at first. She noticed a lot of couples came out of it, and thought it was maybe not a bad idea.

"Sure! great idea!"

They got into a small and slow cart with no seatbelts, which circled around the "house" while different ghosts and monsters appeared by their side. Kurapika was bored to death, thinking that attraction was really pointless, and trying to calm Neon who was screaming like crazy and jumping in the seat. She had the intention of kissing him in the middle of that dark, but she didn't count on being so frightened. She pulled him close to her harder and harder until she ended up on his lap.

"Ne-Neon! I can't...breathe...!" Kurapika said, his face buried into Neon's breasts.

"I'm so scared!"

When they were done, the that helped them out gave them a dirty look. Kurapika, embarrassed, covered his face with his hand. Neon smiled cheerfully by his side, pointing at the next attraction.

After a while Kurapika had got used to it and lost all fear. He was even having a good time. They ate a lot and participated in some contests. After lunch, they wanted to rest before the next attraction. They walked through a road which lead to a huge pond, covered with purple lilies. They sat on a bench to watch the sunset.

There was a moment of silence, in which Kurapika reflected on how nice Neon could be when she wanted to. He looked at their reflection in the water. Come to think about it, Neon was actually very attractive.

Their looks crossed each other's in their reflection. Neon quickly looked away and stared at her feet.

 

"Hey, Kurapika..."

"Yes?"

"Um... Do you like spending time with me?"

Kurapika turned to her and smiled,gently

"I had a great time today. Not only today, some other days as well"

"I wish it could be like this everyday"

she still didn't look him in the eyes

"I know, it would be great to work like this all the time" he joked, "but then your dad wouldn't pay me for just hanging out"

Neon frowned at him

" I wasn't talking about work!" She yelled and her face turned red. "I- I mean that I want to... be with you" 

Kurapika took a moment to understand what she meant. It took him some time to process it.

He never would have thought that Neon saw him that way. He was completely shocked, and did not have time to react or think of what to say. It was the first time Kurapika had faced a situation like this. Nobody had confessed to him before.

They remained silent, looking at each other. Their faces only a few centimeters apart. 

Kurapika couldn't stand the tension. He looked away, and felt his blood coming to his cheeks.

"Don't just sit there in silence! she finally gathered the strength to speak

Kurapika nodded, but still didn't know what to say or do. He suddenly thought it was admirable of her to be brave enough to speak about her feelings. Something that him, being older, was still not able to do. 

He turned to her. She was staring at him. Cheeks turning red, mouth slightly open, breathing faster every second they looked at each others eyes. A delightful view. Kurapika couldn't help feeling slightly attracted to her. 

Neon acted without notice. She held his hand, and got closer to him. Kurapika remained still, no time to react. Neon lifted her head a little towards him, closing her eyes.

He then realized what was happening...

 

She is a good person, he thought. A little spoiled at times, but sweet. She is beautiful, and yet...

He thought of Leorio. Of the goosebumps he felt every time his friend's lips touched his bare skin. The bare thought of it was enough to make his stomach tighten.

That was when he realized his heart did not beast fast when he was close to Neon. That was when he realized that, no matter what, nobody would make him feel the way he felt with Leorio.

 

Neon's lips where so close to his that they nearly touched. Kurapika gently turned his face just before their lips touched, resting his chin in her shoulder, and hugging her.

"She is a nice girl, I can't play with her feelings. It's really painful when someone plays with your feelings...".

But he didn't know how to reject her without hurting her either. Neon opened her eyes to think for a few seconds, before she answered the hug. She started talking

"don't worry, I understand. I know you have other things in your mind right now. And other priorities"

They distanced and looked at each other. She smiled, and he hesitated a moment,unsure of whether to say something else or not. Then he patted her head, and just said  "Thank you. And sorry", with a gentle smile.

After he took Neon home he headed back to the apartment.

 On his way home, all he could think about was how Neon had the strength to talk about her feelings. He doubt his own decision of not telling Leorio, and was inspired to be brave enough to talk to him about it. But the more he thought about losing him, the more he wanted to forget about the idea.

"Maybe tomorrow" he tohught. "Or the day after tomorrow...or next week. Next month?"

He made up excuses in his mind recreating several scenarios in which he would not be able to tell him, just to delay it. Eventually, he would have to find a way to tell him, like it or not. If not, he would go crazy.

 

He was thinking about this when he came through the apartment door...

Leorio was lying on the couch, with a beautiful woman.

Leorio remained still, with his eyes lost in some corner of the room, while she touched him and kissed him. When the woman realized Kurapika entered the apartment, she turned to him, without moving from her place or letting go of Leorio.

He did not yet notice that Kurapika had seen them.

Kurapika stared at them for another moment in shock, until tears of frustration streamed down his face. Mixed feelings of betrayal and impotency took over him.

"YOU ARE AN IDIOT, I HATE YOU!" Kurapika's voice broke. Only then Leorio reacted and realized the situation.

"Kurapika..." He whispered, stretching his hand like trying to reach him. But he could not move from his place. 

Kurapika was already gone.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm moving all my work to A03. This is an old fic -like 2015 old- I edited and rewrote some parts. Enjoy :)


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